In the United States, you do not need a license or training to purchase equipment and fly paramotors, while following certain FAA guidelines for legal airspace and safety. With that being said, training is encouraged, in order to prevent major disasters, injuries, and possible fatalities, while enjoying the aspect of flight. This is an 'At your own risk' sport.
Fallen Angels Paramotor Club was initially founded as a get together club for a group of flyers. We have expanded that to training future pilots, who wish to enjoy the sport and explore their own accomplishments within the culture and sport of flight. We primarily operate out of the East Troy Airport in Wisconsin.
As with any sport, safety is a key element. If you have any medical conditions, you will need to relay these in the beginning, prior to training. We will not tolerate recreational drug use, or alcohol during training or prior to flights. The safety affects not only the individual, but also affects everyone around that individual in the air or on the ground.
If an individual is unsure of whether paramotoring is for them, we can always start out with a scheduled Tandem Paramotor Flight, where the prospective student rides up with a tandem pilot, and gets a feel for the experience of a flight, and to learn a few things while in flight. This tool will give the prospective student the opportunity to see if this is something they wish to pursue, or not pursue, prior to paying for training and equipment in the long run. Pricing is listed below for the Tandem Introductory Flight. If that person becomes a student, that price will be applied toward training costs, but only for one flight. If the student wishes to make additional flights, those will not count toward the training fee.
Training consists of some academic book work, ground school of learning to control the paraglider on the ground, tow assisted flight without the motor, learning the motor and ground training with motor and paraglider wing, and then
This sport is very weather dependent. Completion times for training will vary depending on the student, and the weather. A typical training is about 20 class sessions. This sport is mainly flown in the morning and the evenings, which is how training will be scheduled, in order to maintain the actual flight times of a typical paramotor pilot. In the ideal world, with weather and schedules cooperating, one class session would be in the morning, and the second class session would be in the evening.
The academics in the sport will be to learn aerodynamic theory, safety, laws that apply to ultralights, and the equipment.
The Ground School will incorporate learning the parts of the equipment, learning to kite a paraglider wing on the ground, learning to control the wing on the ground, and building up the confidence to flow with your equipment.
Once you have established control with your glider, and have learned about the flight characteristics of your paraglider wing, we will set you up with a Tow Launch. A Tow Launch is where we use a high power winch, and perform a tow with your first flight into the air, without a motor. This gives the student a feel for the paraglider wing responses, and also gives the student practice in landing with your paraglider wing.
Once you have accomplished the Tow, we will start working you on more ground technique with the motor on your back, so you can get familiar with the feel, weight, and control of your kiting skills. When this last bit of work is complete, we can start with actual flight.
Flight training will be putting all the skills learned to use, and actually flying with guidance from the instructor. From here you will gain comfort in the air, learn how to make adjustments and fly in different ways to gain proficiency in ultralight flight. We will work on your skills, until you have the confidence and safety to fly on your own.
**Any students, under 18 years of age, will need parental consent and a review with the parents.
***There are a few items that we will recognize for training, based on the individual. If a student is a licensed skydiver, with 75 jumps, they will have a 40% discount from the training costs. If a student is an enlisted veteran, with proper paperwork, there will be a 40% discount from training and tandem flight.
***If the student has prior training, and is continuing training, or needs a refresher, that will be done on a consultation basis in order to establish what sort of training is required.
***The student should budget $17,500.00 for this sport. Costs will vary, depending on the equipment purchased (motor with harness ~$8,000.00, paraglider wing and kiting harness ~$5,000.00, helmet and comms ~$1,000.00, training ~$3,500.00) The student will be required to purchase equipment , in order to train. I will consult with each student on the type of equipment they wish to utilize.
LIST OF COSTS
-Tandem Introductory Flight............................................$250.00
-Paramotor Training ........................................................$3,500.00 (Ground school is $2,000.00 and Flight School is $1,500.00)
Tow Assist Flights, per 3 launch attempts...................$150.00 (This is included in the Paramotor Training above.)
***Partial Training will be determined upon consultation