3-Day Paramotor/Paragliding Kiting Clinic

Introducing our all new 3-day paramotor/paragliding kiting clinic! This clinic is hosted in the beaches of north padre island just outside of Corpus Christi, Texas. This training location was chosen specifically due to the consistently strong and smooth wind conditions. During this 3-days kiting clinic our team of instructors, with decades of kiting experience, are going to help you build your glider control skills.

During this clinic we will be doing a handful of things, including a midnight kiting session where we will kite into pure darkness with only lights helping us see our gliders. During this midnight kiting session we will be lighting the sky with headlamps, led strips, lights in the wings, headlights from our vehicles, and more. This midnight kiting session will also involve good food, beverages (not while kiting of course), a bonfire, and of course some great music. Not only will you be building skills and gaining valuable experience, but you'll be creating a memory that will last you a lifetime.

In addition to that we will be hosting a competitive group kiting war, where every student will compete to be the last one standing. You'll be on your own, trying to keep your glider in the sky while others try to take you down, and while you try to take them down. The champion of the kiting war will win a custom made trophy with their name and class date on it. This trophy will symbolize your kiting control.

This training is to be a mix between a wicked fun 3 day getaway to the beaches of southern Texas, and pure raw skill building sessions. The goal of the class is simple: make you as good at kiting as humanly possible. You'll be tested, pushed, and challenged and by the end of the kiting clinic you will have gained insanely valuable glider control skill that will greatly benefit you in your flying career.

 

Training Details:

• 6 Students
• 2 Instructors
• 3 days 
• Located in Corpus Christi, Texas on the beach/coast
• Equipment rental is available
• Kiting/Ground handling only (no flying)
• No experience needed
• Midnight kiting session
• Group kiting war with a trophy for the champion
• $300 discount towards other classes or a $300 credit towards equipment

 

Training Dates:

April 2-4
April 9-11

Training starts on a Thursday morning and ends on a Saturday evening.

 

What We Will Work On During The Training:

• Overall glider control tuneup & improvement
  
• High wind kiting techniques
  • Avoiding getting drug
    
  • Proper wing loading
  • Climbing obsticles
  • 4 ways to safely disable the glider
• Basics of dune soaring
  
• Wingtip touches to the ground
• No hand kiting, weight shift only
• Collapse prevention practice
• Collapse recovery practice
• Stall practice
• Ground Heli
• Cobra launch
• And more

 

Who This Course Is For:

This training course is made for a wide range of pilots from never having touched a glider to seasoned pros looking to improve their skills. This course is a great way for brand new "future" pilots to come and get an introduction into the world of paramotoring without attending the full 10-day course. This course is equally a great place for newer to more experienced paramotor pilots to get more glider control instruction in stronger wind conditions than most people experience.

This training course is applicable for any level of pilot, from nothing, to a pro. We will cater the entire curriculum and class to your needs, helping you however we can help you. Whether that is step 1, or that's step 100, we will help you wherever you are. We also will not hold you back depending on the other students. Although this is a group environment, the course is one on one. We're there for you, however we can help you.

 

New To Paramotors? This Is A Great Start:

If you're looking to get into paramotors but not able to join a full 10-day training course yet, this is a incredible way of getting started. Join us for the 3 days and start building the key foundational skill - glider control / kiting. During these 3 days we will introduce you to the world of paramotoring, by starting with glider control. You'll be able to spend hours upon hours upon hours, practicing, learning, and building skills that will last years into the future. If you're new and looking to get started, this is a great way of getting started.

If you are new to paramotoring and this is your introduction, we do credit part of this class towards either a Backcountry PPG Kiting Kit or towards our 10-Day Beginner Training course. Please reach out for more information on that.

 

Why Glider Control Is So Important:

It is well known in the community that the better you are at kiting, the better you will be as a paramotor pilot. It is the foundational skill of flying paramotors, and if your kiting skills are weak, the rest of the "structure" is weak as well. Kiting is insanely valueable because it teaches you the in's and out's of how the glider works. How it stalls, how it collapses, how to recover from both, how to prevent both, etc. Learning the in's and out's of kiting is often overlooked, as people commonly see it as simply a "means to an end." However, that is so far from the truth. You want flying to be easy? You want flying to be fun? And most importantly, you want it to be safe? It all starts with being good at kiting.

 

Location:

This training is going to be held on the beach/coast of Corpus Christi, Texas. This particular location consistantly had stronger wind conditions, which is what we are in pursuit of. More information on our exact training location, recommended lodging, logistcs, etc will be sent upon your registration, or can be sent upon request. Please reach out if you'd like additional information.

 

Logistics:

You are responsible for the lodging and transportation during the class. There are hotels and airbnb's within 5-10 minutes of the training field we will be using. If you are planning to fly into this training, you will fly into Corpus Christi International Airport, which is about 25-35 minutes away from the training field. More information on lodging and the exact location will be sent upon your registration, or can be sent upon request.

The training is going to start on a Thursday morning and end on a Saturday evening. Arrive on a Wednesday and leave on a Sunday. Training days were choosen so students only had to disrupt one work week instead of two. Training will be held at a variety of different times throughout the 3 days, but plan on roughly 3 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening, with a break in the middle of the day. 

 

 

Midnight Kiting Session:

One of the things we will be doing during this training course is a midnight kiting session. Ok, it may not actually be at midnight, but we will be doing a night kiting session with lights, music, food, and of course a bon fire! During this midnight kiting session we will be rating everyone on how impressive their lights are. We want to see wing lights, christmas lights up the lines, underglow on the bottom of your harness, spotlights on the top of your helmet, etc. One of the fun parts of the night kiting is finding all different kinds of lights to show off! Bring your lights, bring your night eyes, and let's have some fun kiting under the stars! (this is seriously FUN)

 

 

Kiting War (with a trophy for the champion):

During the 3 day kiting clinic, we will be hosting a kiting war with all of the students. This is great fun and a way of testing everyones glider control skills. The winner of the kiting war is going to get a trophy with their name on it, and their class date (made and sent after the class). Our instructors will also be challenging the winner of the kiting war for good fun, but will not be competing in the primary kiting war or for the trophy. These kiting wars are a very fun way of being challenged and tested with your overall kiting skills!

 

 

Dune Soaring:

One of the cool parts of the training location we have choosen, is there are some small dunes that can be "lightly" soared during the class if conditions are right. These small dunes if anything else can be a place for students to run and jump off, getting a short and fun flight. They are nothing crazy, but they give that feeling of flying and challenge the student's ability to keep the glider under control. If you're struggling with control, the small but mighty dune will most certainly show you that. It is not guaranteed that you will get to do any soaring or climbing on the dune, as we will only do so if you have the kiting skills to safely do so.

 

 

Equipment:

This training is a KITING clinic, not a flying clinic. Meaning, we will not be using paramotors during the training class. If you are planning on bringing your own equipment, please come prepared with a helmet, a wing (preferably a kiting specific wing like roadrunner or seed) and a harness (preferably a certified paragliding harness). If you are renting equipmnet from us ($100 per day) you will be provided with a wing appropriate for the conditions and your skills, an Apco First Kiting harness, and a helmet.

If you do plan to bring your own equipment, and you decide to bring a paramotor, we will not stop you from flying. But please do not come expecting to paramotor during this training. Again, this training is for kiting, not flying!

 

Bad Weather:

The one thing we cannot control is weather, despite all the weather dances we do. This being said, we cannot control whether we will have good weather or not. With this in mind please be patient and understanding with us if your class is hit with some rougher weather conditions. Historically April is a great time of year in Corpus Christi, Texas and we are expecting to have some great conditions. We will travel and adjust our training hours throughout the day to maximize our training time. So far we have not had a single class that has been completely ruined due to bad weather.

 

Non-Refundable:

This training course is non-refundable. However, we are able to move you around to different classes if we have to as we understand how hard it can be to get time off work. We will be scheduling more of these in the future, so if you're not able to make either of our April sessions, we will have more for you to attend in the future.