Learn to paraglide safely and successfully, fly above the stunning Swiss Alps in your paraglider, study French, see amazing scenery on cross country flights, gain the internationally recognized IPPI 3 license qualification that can take you paragliding anywhere in the world, and have the thrills of a lifetime experiencing one of mans oldest dreams, that of human flight!
Tour Itinerary:
Week 1: Learn the skills to take off and land paragliders safely, master basic manoeuvres, fly for over 20 minutes on your own, obtain your first pilot rating and learn French.
Your new home will be one of four wooden chalets located in Verbier, a stunning town located in the heart of the Swiss Alps which is part of the ‘Four Valleys’ ski area and combines beautiful scenery with a vibrant nightlife. Each morning you will wake to eat a delicious breakfast before joining your instructors and fellow students on the deck to be briefed about the day’s activities.
The first week will be based at ‘ground school’ to learn the valuable skills required to safely take off and land from a small hill, always with the watchful supervision of your qualified instructors. The week will be dedicated to learning about the paragliding equipment, safety procedures that need to be observed, and how to take off and land successfully and extremely safely. Anyone who is apprehensive about the safety of paragliding need not worry; accidents are barely ever heard of and only arise when people have not followed adequate safety procedures.
Therefore on this trip accidents simply will not occur as our instructors are so experienced, professional, and aware of the measures that need to be observed to fly safely. On roughly the third day you will progress from learning the basics to taking solo flights. By the end of the week you will have advanced so much you will be flying for twenty minutes or more on your own. Completing the BHPA (British Hang-Gliding and Paragliding Association) Elementary Pilot syllabus will give you your first pilots rating IPPI 1 license (International Pilots Proficiency Information card).
Each weekday an hour-long lesson of intensive French will be fitted around our flying adventures. The lessons are designed to teach French in a natural and spontaneous fashion by imitating the way people acquire their mother tongue, meaning by the end of your time here your French will be magnifique!
In the evenings everyone will take it in turns to help the chalet manger Jo cook the dinner, which will be enjoyed outside watching the sun descend behind the snow-capped mountains. You can have a barbecue, chat about the day’s adventures, practice your French with each other, or even head into Verbier to practice your French on the locals! On the seventh day you can have a day off to relax, explore the beautiful area, and fill your journals with the awesome adventures you have had so far.
Weeks 2-3: Learn more skills and the physics behind paragliding to become a proficient paragliding pilot with an IPPI level 3 license.
The second and third wheels will take us up to the mountains again to learn the new skills and more advanced techniques that will take you soaring higher and higher. Spending some time in the classroom will teach you subjects including meteorology, aerodynamics, and the principles of flight; to give you an increased understanding of the way paragliding works and improve your paragliding technique. Modern paragliders developed from parachuting canopies and operate similarly to hang-gliders. They contain a row of cells that are open at the front and closed at the back, which inflate with air to form an aerofoil shape and produce lift. Rising air that comes from thermals (columns of rising air from the sun-heated ground) or ridge-lifts (formed when winds encounter a ridge on the landscape) keep the paraglider aloft.
Learning from the experts will give you the knowledge to master ways of staying afloat on the rising air, thus enabling you to go for hours at a time and adding to your paragliding enjoyment. Paragliding enthusiasts speak of the immense calm and tranquility they feel when flying solo across miles of countryside, due to the amazing silence and weightlessness they feel when soaring through the air. Having lessons about the way paragliding operates will arm you with all the knowledge you need to feel entirely calm and confident in the sky. By the end of the week you will complete the club pilot syllabus and qualify as an IPPI 3 rated pilot, an internationally recognized license that certifies a pilot has reached the standard that they can fly alone without supervision. You will continue to master your French in lessons that overlook the amazing Alps, thus completing perfect days spent on this amazing adventure.
Week 4: Increase your kills to a high level of flying, and increase your confidence speaking French.
Your final week will involve huge amounts of airtime to progress your skills even further. Our instructors will fill your brains with even more knowledge about the physics of flight, and teach you skills, including how to find thermals and use the moving warm air to keep you going for hours. You will also learn how to master more complex turns, achieved by pulling down on one side of your control and shifting in your harness. Some of the planet’s top paragliding professionals will be there every step, turn and flight of the way, offering amazing advice and masterful words of wisdom to progress your flying safely further.
The final night spent on this amazing four week adventure will give you a chance to celebrate your amazing achievements whilst practicing your French once more. As you watch the sun going down behind the Alps on this Verbier paragliding adventure you can toast to your amazing accomplishments, bidding ‘au revoir’ to your instructors but ‘bonjour’ to the world of adventure that is out there for a newly qualified paraglider!
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Costs £2590 / $5491 (US) / €3911
Price Includes:
* Pre-departure support
* 24 hour emergency phone line in the UK
* Transfers to and from Le Chable train station
* Breakfast
* Dinner
* Accommodation in luxury Alpine chalet
* All flying tuition
* All flying equipment
* All mountain transport
* Lift passes
* Examination applications and fees
* Third party liability insurance
* CD containing photos of your course
* 20 hours of French lessons
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Switzerland
Paragliding
Cultural Journey
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