Learning How to Paraglide in Cape Town, South Africa

Learning How to Paraglide in Cape Town, South Africa

If you have spent any significant amount of time in Cape Town, you have likely looked to the sky to see people paragliding Signal Hill or Lions Head. Perhaps, during a hiking trip in the area, you have been envious of individuals who were able to glide away from a high peak instead of climbing the way back down.

If you are interested in enjoying this exhilarating airborne sport, learning how to paraglide is not as difficult as you might imagine. Adults of nearly any age can successfully learn how to take flight and enjoy the surprisingly relaxing experience of soaring over Cape Town using a paraglider.

Getting Licensed to Paraglide in South Africa

Even if you have a friend who paraglides in Cape Town and he helps you practice your skills, it is not legal to fly on your own without receiving a license in South Africa. It is necessary to receive at least a basic license from the South African Hang-gliding and Paragliding Association (SAHPA), which is the governing body for multiple airborne sports in the country.

To receive a license, you will need to receive the proper training, learning how to safely paraglide in Cape Town under the guidance of certified instructors. The knowledge that you gain from these experienced trainers will not only allow you to fulfill the requirements and pass the exams required by SAHPA, but it can also equip you with the vital knowledge of how to safely operate and land a glider.

What to Expect When Starting to Train

The initial stage of any paragliding training course will be to familiarize you with all of the components that you will need to use in order to paraglide. This includes the glider, as well as the harness, the controls, and all of the necessary safety equipment.

Before you ever take to the air, you’ll need to become very knowledgeable of these structures, and how they are meant to function. This allows you to be able to operate all of the controls appropriately while flying, and also allows you to quickly and easily detect if there are any problems with the glider or your paragliding equipment.

Flying Tandem with an Instructor

After you have gone over all of the fundamentals of paragliding, it is time to get some first hand experience. Of course, your trainer is not just going to send you out to paraglide over Cape Town without any supervision. To give you an introduction to what it is like to operate a paraglider, an instructor can fly tandem with you, operating the controls during the session.

Gaining Experience

Before you are able to receive your basic license and begin paragliding in Cape Town on your own, you will need to put a considerable number of supervised gliding hours under your belt.

Many individuals are able to complete their training in as little as a dozen days, which are often spread out over the course of two to three months. You can always go at your own pace, and only take the leap to licensed paraglider when you are definitely ready.