Top Gun Flight School

At iParaglide Top Gun Flight School, we take pride in having taught over 1900 paragliding students in our 26 years of operation.

We are the the longest running school based in Metro Vancouver. Due to our central location, we are the only school that flies all of the relevant kiting parks, training hills and mountains within a 3 hour radius of Vancouver.  This empowers pilots to get to know the key training and flying spots early, optimizes and accelerates learning, and allows them to grow into great future pilots.  

We have the reputation of being an industry leader with an emphasis on engineered safety systems, quality instruction, the finest equipment and a positive learning environment for fun and empowering flying.

We offer the highest level of accreditation, with Senior HPAC and Advanced USHPA paragliding instructors, who coach from first flight to expert paraglider pilots and teach and qualify new paragliding instructors.

Top Gun References

We recently graduated a CF-18 Hornet Pilot from our Top Gun iP2 Novice Paragliding Pilot program.  Read about his impressions of iParaglide.

Social Links

iParaglide Location

Located at 962 - 51st Street Tsawwassen, near Vancouver, BC, Canada, for all your paragliding needs. We are ideally situated just minutes away from the finest training hill at Diefenbaker Park.

iParaglide Flying Sites

We are central to paragliding sites in the Vancouver, Chilliwack, Pemberton, Whistler, Bellingham and Seattle area so students enjoy maximum variety and we can work with weather to optimize selection of the best location each day.

Right Stuff Equipment

We regularly test fly the latest paragliding gear and select only the very finest for our iParaglide Right Stuff Paragliding Equipment Store. This ensures our paraglider pilots enjoy a state of the art performance and safety advantage to accelerate their learning curve.

Paragliding Webcams/Wind Stations

Vancouver Paragliding Webcams - get a view of cloud base to plan your paragliding cross country flight adventure.

Woodside Mtn Webcam

Woodside Wind Station

Bridal Webcam

Bridal Wind Station

Chilliwack Webcam

Hope Webcam 

Pemberton Webcam

Tsawwassen Webcam

Bellingham Bay Webcam

Tiger Mtn Webcam 

 

iP5 Instructor - HPAC Certification ($897) and Re-Certification ($447) Seminar

May 25-27, 2024

Other Dates by Special Arrangement

 

Sign Up! (Click Here)

 

 

iParaglide hosts HPAC Paragliding Instructor Certification (and Re-Certification) Seminars. If you love to coach and would like to add to your contribution to paragliding by becoming a HPAC Certified Paragliding Instructor, please contact us.  We will also consider arranging a special group session on alternate dates.

For prospective new instructors, this is designed to be a comprehensive "hands on" paragliding instructor certification seminar. You will be working closely with real students to learn how to teach fundamentals to pilots in an efficient and effective manner: so that students will have a positive experience, and feel secure and empowered.

You will learn how to mentor at possible locations that are the pillars of a successful paragliding curriculum: the classroom, the training hill, a sea-breeze kiting location and a mountain.

 

 

 

The cost is $897 for the first time you take this course for initial certification, and at a reduced rate of $447 for re-certification (instructors must renew by taking another certification course every 3 years).  

We will work to maximize learning opportunities, adapting to what the wind and weather provides. We will choose the best weather windows for practicum modules.

Locations:

  • Instructor Theory: iParaglide, 962 - 51st Street, Delta (Tsawwassen, just 3 minutes from the training hill!). 
  • Training Hill and/or Kiting Practicum: Diefenbaker Park (1st Avenue @ 56th St, Tsawwassen) and/or Vanier Park (1905 Ogden Ave, Vancouver)
  • Mountain Flying Practicum: Mt. Woodside (2226 Lougheed Highway, Agassiz)

Requirements for Paragliding Instructor Rating

Please email any items you already have. Others you can acquire at a later date.

  • Log book - last page with total paragliding flights and air hours - scan and email
  • HPAC Intermediate Paragliding Rating: 60 hours, 90 flights - email
  • HPAC paragliding membership card - email
  • Transport Canada HAGAR Exam Results - scan and email
  • Standard First Aid Certificate - scan and email
  • Assist a Paragliding Instructor 25 hours - need a letter from instructor/s including their recommendation
  • Paragliding Instructor Certification Seminar 24 hours 
  • Paragliding Reserve Seminar: HPAC recommended, iParaglide required
  • Paragliding SIV Simulation of Flight Incidents Seminar: iParaglide required

 

Day 1 (Sample itinerary, we will adapt course modules to weather conditions.) 

 

 

06:00-07:00: Instructors Course Overview & Training Hill Theory (Diefenbaker)

07:00:           Students Arrive (Diefenbaker)

07:00-11:00: Instructors Training Hill Practicum (Diefenbaker) 

11:00:           Lunch & Drive to iParaglide

12:30-14:00: Instructors Mentoring Theory (iParaglide)

14:00-15:30: Instructors Operations Theory (iParaglide)

15:30-16:30: Instructors Content Theory (iParaglide)

16:30:           End Day 1

 

 Day 2 (Sample itinerary, we will adapt course modules to weather conditions.)

 

07:30-08:00: Instructors How to do Theory (iParaglide)

08:00-08:30: Instructors Topic & Prepare for Theory Class (iParaglide)

 

 

08:30:            Students Arrive

08:30-09:00: Topic#1 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)  

09:00-09:30: Topic#2 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)

09:30-10:00: Topic#3 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)

10:00-10:30: Topic#4 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)

10:30-11:00: Topic#5 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)

11:00-11:30: Topic#6 Presentation to Students with Scoring/Feedback (iParaglide)

11:30:           Lunch & Drive to Vanier Park

 

 

12:30:            Students Arrive Vanier 

12:30-15:30: Instructors Kiting Practicum

15:30:           End Day 2

 

Day 3 (Sample itinerary, we will adapt course modules to weather conditions.)


 


06:00-07:00: Instructors LZ Walkover & Pre-Flight Theory (Riverside)

07:00:            Students Arrive (Riverside)

07:00-08:00: Instructors LZ Walkover & Pre-Flight Practicum (Riverside)

08:00-11:00: Instructors LZ Radio Guidance Practicum (Riverside)

 

 

11:00:           Lunch & Drive to iParaglide

13:00-15:00: Instructors Safety Theory (iParaglide)

15:00-17:00: Instructors Synergy Session (iParaglide)

17:00:           End Day 3, End HPAC Instructors Seminar

 

 

iP5 Instructor - HPAC Certification ($897) and Re-Certification ($447) Seminar - May 25-27, 2024 - Other Dates by Special Arrangement*

Sign Up! (Click Here)

* 24 hour Certification course conducted over 3 days.  Course modules require successful completion and a 80% minimum pass mark. Participating does not guarantee a pass or a recommendation to be instated as a HPAC Instructor.  Intermediate Rating (including 60 air hours & 90 flights) is a pre-requisite for this course. Note the iP5 Instructors Course may be taken prior to completion of: HAGAR exam; Standard First Aid; and assisting for 25 hours. However, all of the preceding items must be successfully obtained within one year of attending the Seminar and before the Senior Instructor will issue a recommendation to the HPAC to instate the pilot as an HPAC Certified Instructor. Full payment of the course and time commitment to specific dates must be received prior to commencement of training.  We reserve the right to discontinue training, or to not recommend, any prospective instructor not following directions or conducting themselves in a manner that creates a negative environment or may endanger themselves or others. There will be no refunds for partial course completions due to absenteeism, dismissal, or non-recommendation.