New To Paramotoring? We Can Help!

Start By Watching This Video:

 

Learning to fly a paramotor will be, without a doubt, one of the most life-changing things you will ever experience. The pure raw joy, freedom, community, and never-ending fun is something you just don't get with anything else! For whatever reason, the shine just doesn't wear off with this!

 

Training Details:

• 10-Days 
• 6 Students per class max (strict)
• 3 Instructors
• 15+ Years Experience
• 400+ Students Trained
• 50+ Students Trained Every Year
• $600 Discount Towards Equipment
• Equipment rental provided during the training
• Ages 10-70 are welcome
• 100 LBS weight requirement
• 330 LBS weight limit
• Certified USPPA Instructors
• No Equipment Purchase Needed
• Hosted in Salt Lake City, Utah in the spring, summer, & fall
• Hosted in Corpus Christi, Texas or Salton Sea, California in the winter
• Taught by Trevor Steele & the Backcountry PPG team 
• Receive a USPPA PPG1 & PPG2 rating (if requested) (not required)
• 60+ Page ground school manual is provided 

At Backcountry PPG we have a very structured and systematic approach to how we run our training. We don't waste time, we don't cut corners, and we don't leave you wondering what's next. Every step is laid out and all work together to achieve the same goal - safely getting you flying.

 

IMPORTANT UPDATE - Our March 1-12, 2024 beginner training will be held at Salton Sea, California. Our Utah-based training will start again in April 2024. Please reach out to Trevor with questions.

 

Please contact Trevor if you have any questions: 
Call or text - (801-599-1684)
Email - info@BackcountryPPG.com

 

How Training At Backcountry PPG Works:

Our beginner paramotor training course is a 10-day fully immersive, zero-to-hero training program designed to teach you everything you need to know about how to safely fly on your own. During this training, you will spend 40-80 hours hands-on with our instructors learning the ins and outs of all things paramotoring. This includes glider control, rules, regulations, airspace, maintenance, and of course - how to fly the paramotor!

The goal of this training program is to equip you with the skills and knowledge needed to safely begin flying on your own - the day training ends.

We've spent years developing our training structure/syllabus, and it's our not-so-secret, "secret sauce!" Our training approach is a very structured, building block process where we introduce only one piece at a time. This structure has been refined, tweaked, and improved upon over years of running training classes.

  

Our Training Philosophy (the secret sauce):

At Backcountry PPG we take a very structured building block approach to teaching people to fly paramotors. This structure is designed to help guide each student from zero to hero without ever skipping or missing a step.

This step-by-step approach has been developed over the last 5 years of training, based on what actually made a difference for our students. We listened, we tested, we learned, and through that process, we've developed a structure that creates incredible pilots.

In addition to our hands on training, we've worked hard to create a ground school that is not only extensive and detailed, but most importantly easy to remember. Listening to information is one thing, learning and remembering it is another thing. To help our students retain and remember the information we cover during the ground school, we provide a 60+ page ground school manual that covers every topic we talk about. This way they can continue to reference and learn even when we are not with them.

Another one of the things we really prioritize is on teaching glider control. During the training program, students will spend 40-80 hours hooked into a wing learning to keep control in nearly every situation, weather condition, and style. It's our goal that by the end of the 10 days, you have learned how to keep complete control regardless of what's happening to you, the wing, or the weather. This means you will spend hours hooked into a glider practicing the fundamentals of keeping it in control in every way shape and form.

The reason for this is because over the last decade of teaching people to fly paramotors, we have learned that the better the student is at controlling the wing, the easier & safer flying will be. Students with more control will consistently have better launches and landings whereas students with less control are more prone to blowing launches and making mistakes.

This means - the more control you have, the more fun you will have and the easier it will be! 

There really is no secret sauce, only hard work, dedication, lots of passion, and a burning desire to improve every minute of every day.

 

Training Logistics:

This training course is for 10 consecutive days located at Cedar Valley Airport in Eagle Mountain, Utah. This is roughly 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City itself. During these 10 days, we will spend about 4 hours in the morning, and 4 hours in the evening training.

Out of those 8 hours, we will spend about 80% of our time doing hands-on instruction and about 20% of our time doing classroom instruction. Camping is welcome at the airport, but it is dry camping with no power, water, or sewer. Tents are also welcome. For those traveling, we often recommend booking an Airbnb since they are very affordable in our area and can be found closer than hotels.

 

Equipment Rental During Training:

Equipment rentals are provided for the entire duration of the training. Meaning, you DO NOT need to bring any training equipment or worry about making any purchases before the class. We will provide all the equipment you need to complete the training course. This includes the wings, the motors, the fuel, the helmets, the radios, etc.

What We Teach:

Hands-On Training:

• Glider & riser management
  
• Line untangling 
• Glider packing & proper care
• Glider layout for forward inflation
• Forward inflation hook-in process
• Proper forward inflation technique (lots of practice)
• Cross wing forward inflations
• Reverse glider layout & hook-in process
• Reverse kiting in light, mild, and high wind conditions
• Proper reverse-kiting techniques
• Wingtip touches
• No hand kiting
• Reverse to forward turnaround technique
• Paramotor preflight
• Paramotor hang point adjustments
• Paramotor harness adjustments
• Paramotor cage & prop awareness 
• Proper priming and starting techniques
• Paramotor runup
• Paramotor lean-back drill
• Paramotor power walk drill
• Throttle practice
• Throttle kill switch practice
• Kiting practice with paramotor & throttle 
• Power taxi's
• First flight simulator practice
• First flight
• In-flight throttle drills
• In-flight oscillation control drills
• In-flight landing approach drills
• Launch & landing practice
• And more 

 

Classroom Training:

• Understanding of weather & ability to read weather
• Understanding of wind and the risk of different wind speeds and directions
  
• Understanding of FAR 103 
• Understanding of airspace
• Understanding of risk factors and how to reduce risk
• Understanding of how paramotors & paragliders work
• How to pick a safe LZ
• How to safely fly with others
• How to safely progress in paramotoring
• Common injuries and how to avoid them
• Common new pilot mistakes and how to avoid them
• Emotional influences & how to identify them & navigate them
• Risk of flying near livestock & horses
• Understanding of rotor, thermals, wind sheer, & gust fronts
• And more

 

Equipment Purchases & Package Deals:

Here at Backcountry PPG we are official dealers for nearly all brands, makes, and models of paramotors and paragliders. Meaning, we are able to help you find the right setup and won't just push one brand onto you because it's what we sell. This flexibility is important for us because it allows us to stay as neutral and unbiased as possible. 

Some of the brands we are dealers for are - MacFly, Parajet, PAP, Limitless, Liberty, Iris, Scout, Kangook, P2F, Fly Products, Ozone, Dudek, GIN, ITV, Sky, SOL, U-Turn, SOL, Flow, Advance, Nova, and more!

One additional thing we do offer to all our students is a $600 discount towards a complete purchase of equipment. This is valid any time before, during, or after training (yes even years later). This is our way of saying thank you for helping support us!

 

 WATCH THIS VIDEO:

 

Commonly Asked Questions:

 

What Is A Paramotor?

Paramotors are small unlicenced aircraft that can be flown in locations as small as a local soccer or football field. They are capable of flying up to 18,000 feet and can be packed down small enough to fit into a Prius! Yes, you don't even need a truck! These small but mighty aircraft can carry far more weight than you might think, and we regularly have 300+ pound pilots attending our training program with great success! 

How Safe Are Paramotors?

Although there are no official statistics, we've seen that paramotoring can be one of the safest forms of aviation out there. Safety is primarily determined by the pilot's judgment and ability to make smart choices with their flying. This goes for choosing good weather to fly in, choosing a safe way to fly, and overall making safe decisions. We are huge safety advocates because although we've dedicated our entire lives to this, we don't want to get hurt and definitely don't want others to get hurt. One thing we preach about more than anything else is safety management and we work hand in hand with our students to help them learn about the potential risks they may face and how to safely navigate those. When done correctly, paramotoring is one of the safest and most fun forms of aviation there is!

 

WATCH THIS VIDEO:

  

Meet Your Instructor:

The primary instructor at Backcountry PPG is Trevor Steele! Trevor started flying paramotors in 2012 at the age of only 13 years old. Trevor quickly progressed and over the years got thousands and thousands of hours of flight time in conditions ranging from backcountry mountain flying to high wind beach flying, and everything in between.

Trevor has spent nearly a decade teaching paramotor training at other well-known paramotor schools before going off on his own. Over the last decade, Trevor has learned what it takes to build a great pilot in a safe way.

Trevor's combination of passion for flying and experience in this sport helps him teach students with all different backgrounds all looking to do different things.

In addition to Trevor, there will be several other instructors there to help you along the way. They all have very different backgrounds and unique ways of teaching the same information which helps students learn more and faster.

 

 

  

Package Deals:

At Backcountry PPG we offer a "one and done" paramotor package deal for our students. This package deal gives our students a $600 discount for purchasing equipment through Backcountry PPG. We have packages ranging from around $12,000-$17,000

 

How To Sign Up:

Please give us a call at - (801-599-1684) before signing up for the training. Once you have done so please add the training to the cart and follow the checkout instructions! Once completed we will promptly email over some additional details and help answer all of your questions!