What equipment do I need?

Our service is only provided to licenced pilots, so you need your own gear.

A paraglider that has been serviced in the last 2 years and is still airworthy. A reserve parachute that has been repacked in the last two years. A helmet certified for paragliding. A harness with certified back protection.

A 2m radio that can operate on 143.500 MHz or similar frequency (or you can borrow one of ours on request). If you want to talk in the air (not necessary), please get a headset with a wind-protected microphone.

A flight instrument that can indicate climbs (vario), altitude (altimeter) and ground speed (GPS), although the last two can be achieved reasonably with a phone secured on a flight deck (see Instruments).

Please keep your passport, GHIC/EHIC card, insurance information and key medical facts on you when flying.

What about insurance?

Your paragliding licence usually includes liability insurance for the (highly unlikely) damage you cause to other people with your flying activities.

Although EU citizens have access to free public healthcare (and UK citizens can get this with a GHIC card) there might be some institutional reluctance to cover a high risk sport so it’s a good idea to have accident insurance that covers paragliding with rescue, repatriation and emergency medical costs.

This is usually travel insurance and not private medical insurance; so there might be no cover for medical expenses incurred in private facilities if medically capable public facilities are available.

But at least you can send any unexpected bills to the insurance company and you’ll be flown home, where you might have better medical cover.

Try BMC, JS Insurance, Dog Tag, World Nomads, Big Cat, Insureandgo, True Traveller or Global Rescue, and check the fine print to make sure the plan covers paragliding.

Can I rent my own accommodation?

Not ideal. You’ll miss out on the cameraderie, banter and bonding that comes from living together and immersing yourself in paragliding. You can rent your own house, or bring your campervan, or even a tent if that’s what you prefer to stay in. But this does not reduce the course fee.

The value of the course is the training, and this doesn’t change. It does not reduce our costs when you don’t use the rooms, because we have a strict limit on pilot numbers on the course, so we cannot fill them.

If you stay in another house, you will be responsible for getting to the lodge by at least 9am every day, when the flight briefing begins. It’s 20 minutes drive from Algodonales. You’ll need your own hire car.

Can I bring my partner?

During coaching weeks we don’t offer accommodation for non-participating partners in the house because this complicates logistics.

There are usually no ‘off’ days, and we use the whole flying day, with highly unpredictable locations and return times. So you will have very little time to spend with your partner, which can lead to unhappiness and tension.

However, if your partner is a pilot who meets the minimum requirements for the week, then you are most welcome to both sign up for the week.

What if I miss your shuttle bus?

If your flight lands after 14:00 (for whatever reason), you will miss our shuttle at 15:00, so you’ll need to arrange your own transport. 

Try BlaBlaCar (rideshare) to Algodonales which should be 20€, or an Uber for about 160€, or you could rent a car at the airport.

There is also a shuttle bus from Malaga airport to Malaga Central, then a bus service to Algodonales or El Gastor (where we can collect you). It’s under 20€ but it’s most likely you’ll have to overnight in Malaga and lose a day. 

The same applies on the exit day, we drop you off no earlier than 10:00. If you book a flight that departs before 12:00 then you will be too late! You’ll have to arrange an earlier rideshare or taxi to the airport.

What is the Refund Policy?

To secure your place, there is a 100€ non-refundable deposit. Which means if you cancel, it does not come back to you.

This payment secures your place and prevents others from booking that week, which makes it harder (or impossible) for us to fill the space later on. But when we accept your deposit and confirm your place, it means it is guaranteed the course will run, and you can book your flights. 

Full payment for the course is due 1 month before the stated dates. An invoice will be emailed to you. 

Late cancellations after this point will only be refunded if your place can be filled by another pilot.

Is the flying guaranteed?

No. You know the game, it’s paragliding. We all take our chances with the weather.  We will dedicate our whole week to you. The region is one of the most flyable areas in the world: it usually has light winds and sunshine. If not, we’ll drive to the best sites we can reach every day, or we’ll do an intensive ground training seminar, or classroom work.

I have special dietary requirements!

It’s self-catering accommodation, so please buy your own food during our supermarket visits and store it in the fridge, to prepare in the kitchen.

We don’t normally break for lunch (peak flying time), so it’s a good idea to grab an apple and sandwich from the kitchen on the way to flying. We have a cooler box in the van with some snacks and refreshments where you can store your food. 

The restaurants in the area serve evening meals around 8.00pm. Most have some vegetarian options but are limited with catering for vegan or specialised diets.

Flight tracking / mapping?

You can use any vario. When you start doing XC, it’s much nicer to have a task displayed in front of you on a big map with roads, towns, terrain and airspace.

You can combine any vario with your phone running Naviter Navigator. We use this app for livetracking and task sharing, but you can use any tracking instrument that feeds into PureTrack.

Get a spare phone case with Velcro attached to it and stick it on a flight deck so the phone is in a visible position. Use a pod harness, or get a clip-on-cockpit.

You’ll also need a USB battery pack for charging, and a magnetic swivel head cable that helps prevent the USB plug from snapping off or damaging your phone during launch and landing.

Alternatively you can get a dedicated large screen instrument for mapping, like Naviter Oudie N from https://bit.ly/navitershop

What are the Facilities?

Everyone gets a private bedroom. Close the door .. ahh, no snorers!

You’ll have access to a shared bathroom, there are 3 in the house.

Clean bedding and towels are provided when you arrive. There is a washing machine if you need one during the week. Each room has heating and cooling.

There’s free superfast wifi (thanks to Starlink) and many European two-round-pin power points (bring an adapter if you have foreign plugs).

There’s a convenient place to hang in your harness to adjust the settings, and lots of space to sort out your equipment in the garage or beside the pool.

There’s lots of space in the house and outdoors. You’ll find your happy place.

On most nights, Andalucía provides a spectacular starscape.