Paragliding

Paragliding in Nepal can be a truly wonderful and fulfilling experience for the adventure seeker. A trip will take you over some of the best scenery on earth, as you share airspace with Himalayan griffin vultures, eagles, kites and float over villages, monasteries, temples, lakes and jungle, with a fantastic view of the majestic Himalaya .

Gliding is a weather dependent sports and the flying season in Nepal commences from November through February, the best months being November and December. The takes off point for these flights is Sarankot (1592m.), which also offers prime views of Fewa lake and mountains at sunrise and sunset (provided the skies are clear) and the landing is by the Fewa lake. Observing glory of Annapurna range and beautiful landscape around Pokhara valley, virgin Mt; Fishtail (Machhapuchhre), Lamjung Himal, Annapaurna Himal, Himchuli, Fewa Lake, Rice field, Rivers and settlements are below gives you thrills with a great photographic opportunity. Fly once in Pokhara to make your dream come true.
No previous experience is required as qualified pilots provide a short briefing before launching .

You’ll get memories to last a lifetime in 30 to 45 minute flight. For those who want to find out what paragliding is all about but cannot commit to 2 days of instruction, we offer tandem flights. During the flight pilot will explain what he/she is doing and allow you some hands-on control of the glider.

Paragliding Programs:
In the morning, after breakfast drive to Sarankot (1592m) Paragliding spot.

After arrival on the spot, briefing about flying by expert& professional pilot and fly.

About an hour of exiting flight, during the flight you have breathe taking panorama views of Annapurna Range, beautiful Mt. Fish Tail, Annapurna South, Himchuli, Annapurna II, III, IV, Lamjung Himal, Mt. Manashlu and great Mt. Dhaulagiri togethere with landscape panorama and Fewa Lake.

After landing transfer to hotel and rest or join the further program according to your itinerary.

This exiting short flight trip can be done after or before the trekking when you have rest day in Pokhara. For detail please make an inquiry to us or book this tandem flight now.

Itinerary:
Days 01: Flight or drive to Pokhara from Kathmandu – O/N at hotel.
Days 02: Hiking to Sarangkot (1590m) – O/N at hotel.
Days 03: Paragliding tour – O/N at hotel in Pokhara.
Days 04: Sightseeing in Pokhara city.
Days 05: Drive or fly back to Kathmandu

Courses:
Beginner Courses
Paragliding is the most pure form of flying. By using the elements and rising currents of warm air, we can stay aloft for many hours and travel many miles. This simple aircraft fits easily into a rucksack and weighs around 10kg.

In Nepal the flying is made more special by the continuous presence of numerous species of eagle, vulture, falcon, hawk and kite. They all love to join us, equally fascinated by us as we are by them. Often flying within feet of the glider!

Frontiers Paragliding offers 3 stages to becoming a pilot. We follow the Para-Pro syllabus; this is set out by the Federation Aeronautique International (FAI) the controlling body for all airsports worldwide. All our instructors are highly experienced and form the backbone of a highly professional team.

The license we issue is authorised by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). This is the controlling body for airsports worldwide. The IPPI card (International Pilot Proficiency Identification) is recognised in every country that has an airsport association.

Course Dates For 2009 – 2010 Season
Courses Starting:
Nov 16 > Nov 25
Nov 30 > Dec 9
Dec 14 > Dec 23
Jan 29 > Feb 7

P1
Course: 5 days
Price: €500
All Transport and equipment provided.
All flights are under 2 – way radio guidance.

Course structure

Introduction to the equipment, its transport, care and maintenance
Pre-flight safety checks
Glider inflations and deflations
Takeoff and landing procedures
Short flights below 3m
Theory of flight, meteorology and air law
Short flights 30m
Left and right turns
Speed control
Medium flights below 200m
180 degree turns
Big ears descent technique
Theory exam

Course: 4 days
Price: €400
All Transport and equipment provided.
All flights are under 2 – way radio guidance.
Course structure
•    Insight and evaluation of flying site and conditions
•    Flight planning
•    Pre launch checks
•    Flights 200m
•    Glide angle and minimum sink speed
•    Deflations recognition and recovery
•    Flights 700m
•    Spot landings
•    Manoeuvring according to other traffic
•    Airmanship
•    Ground handling
•    Takeoffs in wind
•    Flights 800m
•    Minimum sink manoeuvres
•    Wind correction exercisesUnderstand stalls and spins
•    Thermalling; maintaining soaring flight
•    Precision approaches and landings
•    Exam

A typical day
9:30: After breakfast meet at the office in Lakeside, Pokhara
10:00: Collect equipment, jump in the jeep and head out to the days flying site
10:30: Site and conditions assessment
11:00 – 1:00: Flying
1:00 – 1:30: Pack lunch
1:30 – 4:30: Flying
5:00: Back in office, drop off equipment
5:30: In the bar for the days debriefing session

Thermalling
The mild and super-consistent weather of the Pokhara valley provide excellent conditions for all levels of pilot. From beginner through to XC hounds, Nepal has it all.

Often the most crucial part of any pilots training is immediately after they have qualified and have to fly outside of the school environment. This can seem daunting especially as the new pilot often has to deal with unfamiliar conditions, such as thermals. A lot of pilots are not trained in school to fly in thermic conditions and need extra instruction.

Frontiers offers this course for pilots looking to improve the necessary skills and decisions that give us the best chance of soaring away from the familiar environment of the ridge to the freedom of the open skies.

Thermalling Clinic
Course: 3 days
Price: £250
All transport and radios provided.
Aim
This course is an introduction to thermal flying with the objective of improving the pilot’s knowledge and skills needed to make the most of the lift on any given day
Day 1
•    Meet in the office for equipment and radio check.
•    After assessing the conditions we head out to the days flying site.
•    Theory lesson on the hill in understanding thermal sources, triggers and dynamics. This involves watching lots of birds of prey!
•    Briefing for the days flying.
•    The instructor will guide you with 2-way radio from the hill in finding, catching and staying in thermals.
•    Depending on how long your flight is we try for 2 flights a day.
Day 2
•    Meet in the office for equipment and radio check.
•    After assessing the conditions we head out to the days flying site.
•    Following on from the previous day we try and keep you in the air as long as possible. The longer you are up the more you are learning.
Day 3
•    We try and take you to a different site each day to improve you knowledge and assessment of varying conditions.
•    The last day of the course we try and get you to follow the instructor around the sky. We have found that it is a lot easier to get to cloud base with someone else in the thermal with you, talking you through the process.
•    At the end of each day is a debriefing session, where everyone can sit down and talk about the days flying.

Cross-country Course
Course: 3 days
Price: £250

All transport and radios provided

Aim
This follows on from the thermalling course, as pilots master the skills of ridge soaring and turn their attention to thermal flying, the focus leads to cross country flight. The challenge and adventure of flying in unfamiliar surroundings is unbeatable. However, flying in the mountains requires a more advanced flying technique. This 3 day course aims to give an introduction to mountain flying with the objective of looking at the necessary skills and decisions that give us the best chance of thermalling away from the familiar environment of the ridge to the freedom of the open skies.

Each day will follow a similar pattern. The morning briefing is designed to give as much information to the pilot as possible to put them in the right frame of mind for XC flying. Conditons, thermal strength, xc route, retrieve etc.

Flying XC is just a case of linking 2 thermals together, but it requires the symbolic cutting of ties from the hill. This course deals not only with the practice but also the mental side of XC flying.

Acro and SIV

Course: 3 days
Price: £290
The following lists the equipment need for the SIV and Acro courses.
Also safety information concerning how we run our courses and what you can expect from a typical day.
Equipment
•    Glider in good condition, all equipment is checked by the instructor before the course.
•    Reserve, a repack session the night before the course starts showing you how to pack your own reserve.
•    Harness in good condition, with back protection removed, and any airbags disabled.
•    No flying instruments
•    Life Jacket, we provide.
•    No sunglasses.
•    Radio with waterproof bag, we can provide the bag.
Pilot
•    Minimum CP rating
•    In good health, no medical problems
•    Be able to swim.
Course structure
We have attached another sheet detailing the various exercises, but below we describe how we run our courses.
•    Each course is run by 2 instructors, 1 at launch and the other at the landing who guides you through the various exercises over the radio.
•    Every flight is videoed for the night’s debriefing session. This is an extremely important aspect of these courses.
•    A typical day will have 3-4 flights.
•    Minimum height over the lake is 250m, average height 500m. Good height 1000m
•    All exercises will take place over an imaginary cylinder over the water. This is far enough upwind of the landing that in case of a reserve deployment you do not drift over land.
•    There will be a safety boat with 3 people at all times able to retrieve you quickly.
•    The meeting the night before the course starts is where all reserves will be repacked. The instructor will do this with the pilots help. An increased understanding of how your equipment works leads to increased confidence.
•    During the same meeting all wings will be checked for airworthiness for the course.
•    The instructor will sit down with each pilot individually to discuss what their expectations are and what they want to achieve during the course. This forms the basis for the series of exercises the pilot will perform.
•    At each morning briefing the instructor will describe each manoeuvre to the pilots that they will perform that day.
•    As pilots progress at different speeds they will be performing different exercises during a flight.
•    An exercise sheet is filled out after each flight by the instructor for each pilot; this along with the day’s video is the basis for the nights debriefing session.
•    To do the Acro course it is necessary to have completed a SIV course first
•    Most manoeuvres in an Acro course of 3 days will be beyond most pilots.
•    Depending on their level, the focus for most beginner Acro pilots is to improve their wingovers so that they are able to loop, SAT, Asymmetric spiral and full stall confidently at various speeds. These manoeuvres are the basis for all other Acro moves. Once mastered then the harder moves can be attempted.
•    Each course will run for a minimum of 4 pilots and a maximum of 8.

Each day the instructor will launch first and wait in the house thermal for the students to catch up. Then it is follow my leader down the ridge and beyond. Radio guidance will help in your decision-making and you will be amazed at how quickly you progress.

The debriefing session each day is vital to improving the next day’s performance. The decisions you made, why and when etc all need to be discussed.

The Sarangkot ridge is a perfect location for this our XC course. 10Km long with many options and easy retrieves, it provides the ideal conditions and unforgettable views, so don’t forget the camera!

Easy holliday
A blend of seighsteeing and paragliding to discover Nepal smoothly.
A chilled out holliday!

Level:      all levels
Period:    from september to may
Price:      800 € per person

Service provided
pick up and drop off at airports/hotels
Bus to Pokhara
Flight to Kathmandu
Transportation by jeep in Pokhara
Paragliding instructor for the first 3 flying days
Theory course and thechnical advise

Options
You can rent us a wing, harness, rescue, radio or helmet, as long as you inform us enough in advance.
Please send us an email to check availabilities and prices.
Bookings
Please make your booking by email or come to our office in Pokhara.
Tel: 00977-61-534737 or  00977-61-535015    Fax: 00977-61-528698
Day 1: Kathmandu
Welcome at the airport and transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure.
Day 2: Kathmandu
Sighsteeing of Kathmandu, Patan and other temples.
Day 3: Kathmandu – Bandipur
Bus to Bandipur and transfer to your hotel. Depending the weather we will take a first flight or a pleasurable walk around
Day 4: Bandipur
Fly over The old village and wiew on the Hymalayen ridge .
Day 5: Pokhara
Jeep to Sarangkot hill (1500 m) for a flight and a small  cross. Great views of the Annapurnas and the Machapuchare.
Briefing and long cross-country around Pokara.
Day 6 to day 12: Pokhara
Fly in Pokara. We will fly about 3 times a day or less if you stay in the air. We can make several cross country from Sanrankot take off.
Day 13: Pokhara – Kathmandu
In the morning, we take the plane to Kathmandu. Afternoon at leisure in Kathmandu.
Day 14: Kathmandu
Transfer to airport and fly back home.