Air School Paragliding (Pty) Ltd · Cape Town · SACAA DTO 0034
Paragliding Licence Pathway
Training costs, what’s included, and how the three phases work — from first flight to SAHPA Basic Licence.
The Three-Phase Pathway to a SAHPA Basic Licence
A SAHPA Basic Licence is earned in three phases. Air School Paragliding (Pty) Ltd is a SACAA Declared Training Organisation (DTO 0034) — the highest civilian aviation certification in South Africa. All instruction is delivered by SACAA DTO and SAHPA-qualified instructors with the experience and ratings appropriate to each phase of training.
Beginner Course
all-inclusive
Three structured sessions. You fly solo before the course ends. Available year-round — all three sessions, including the first solo flights at Langebaan dunes, can take place in any month. Paragliding is as much a mental activity as a physical one — the priority in Phase 1 is building genuine confidence in the air, not just completing a checklist of manoeuvres. Phase 1 is a standalone course — completing it does not commit you to Phases 2 or 3.
Why this course starts in the air
Most beginner courses start with kiting — ground handling practice until you are reasonably competent before going airborne. That is a logical sequence, but it has a structural problem: the first thing you experience is the most technically demanding and least rewarding part of paragliding. Students who struggle with it sometimes quit before they are ever airborne.
This course inverts that. Session 1 puts you in the air with the instructor before you are asked to do anything difficult on the ground. You feel the controls, understand lift, and experience what you came for. Ria can observe your hand position, brake pressure, and body alignment in real time and correct them immediately — a quality of feedback that is not possible from the ground.
One of the Session 1 flights includes a controlled collapse demonstration. The most common unasked question among new students is what happens if the wing collapses. During this flight you experience real wing behaviour — the sensation, the recovery, the normalcy of it — with Ria fully in control. By the time you solo, that uncertainty has been replaced with first-hand experience.
Session 1 · ~3 hrs
3 tandem training flights at Signal Hill. Each flight has specific objectives: correct turning technique, body position in flight, approach and landing setup, and actual landing — most students land the glider themselves by flight three. Turbulence control, descent techniques, and mental confidence-building for solo flight are all covered in the air.
Session 2 · ~2.5 hrs
Ground school in Sea Point. Covers glider inspection and pre-flight checks, reserve parachute briefing, takeoff technique practised on flat ground, weather theory and site assessment, and in-flight harness simulation — rehearsing turns, body position, big ears, speed bar, and PLF (parachute landing fall) before going to altitude alone.
Session 3 · Full day
Up to 7 supervised solo flights at the Langebaan dunes — more if conditions allow. Your first time flying the glider yourself.
Included in the R12,500 fee
Theory & Open-Book Exam
first attempt
An online SAHPA theory course followed by an open-book exam. Self-paced — completed in your own time between Phase 1 and Phase 3. Theory exam preparation is provided as part of the Phase 1 course at no extra cost. The exam marking fee is R750. If a remark is required, each subsequent remark is R500. This structure exists to ensure students approach the exam having genuinely prepared — the exam is open-book, so there is no reason not to be ready.
Licence Flights
group rate
Additional supervised solo flights to meet SAHPA Basic Licence hour and skill requirements. All supervision is by SACAA DTO and SAHPA-qualified instructors with the ratings appropriate to Phase 3 training.
Why Phase 3 is April–September only
Thermal activity on the Western Cape’s inland mountain sites decreases significantly in winter. In summer, thermic conditions at sites like Porterville and Piketberg are exactly what experienced pilots seek out. For a student, those same conditions are a step too far too early. Winter flying at these sites is real, consequential flying — at a level that is appropriate to where a student actually is in their development.
How Phase 3 training is organised
After completing Phase 1, students are added to the school’s Telegram group. A daily forecast goes out identifying which sites are suitable for student training in the coming week. Students check the forecast, flag their availability, and training goes ahead when at least three students are ready to fly. The group intake is continuous — new students are added regularly, so training days form throughout the season regardless of any individual student’s schedule. You progress at your own pace without waiting on a fixed cohort.
Equipment for Phase 3
Gear hire is available at R235 per flight, but purchasing your own equipment before Phase 3 is strongly recommended. Paragliding gear is specific to a pilot’s weight, height, and skill level — long-term hire is not how this industry works. More practically, owning your glider means you can practise ground handling between sessions. Ground handling proficiency is the single biggest factor in how quickly you progress and how safely you fly. Equipment guidance is provided as part of Phase 1. Used airworthy gear typically runs R20,000–R50,000; new gear around R70,000.
Individual training
The group training model requires a minimum of three students to be viable. Students who need to train individually — for example, visitors with limited time in Cape Town — can arrange dedicated one-on-one sessions. Individual instruction and transport are charged at 2.5× the group rate (R663/hr instructor rate; transport at full AA rate rather than shared). Students who can provide their own transport to and from the flying site pay the instructor rate only. Contact Ria directly to discuss availability and scheduling.
How instruction progresses
In the early Phase 3 flights, instruction is intensive. The focus is on making each flight as accessible as possible while the student builds experience and confidence. As flights accumulate, the practical requirements that define a Basic Licence pilot are introduced: thermic flying, high mountain flights, flying with other air traffic, accurate unassisted landings, and unassisted takeoffs. Each is a genuine competency, not a checkbox.
As those competencies develop, instruction tapers deliberately. Full guidance gives way to questioning and discussion. Questioning gives way to evaluation.
The evaluation standard
The SAHPA Basic Licence requires a minimum of 35 flights — and minimum means exactly that. The final five flights are conducted as if the instructor is not present. The student arrives at the flying site, unpacks and pre-flights their own equipment, declares their flight plan to the instructor, and then executes — takeoff, flight, and landing at the designated site — independently.
If the instructor must intervene significantly enough that, without that intervention, the student would have been a hazard to themselves or other pilots, that flight does not count as an evaluation pass. Five evaluation flights remain outstanding.
The goal is a licensed pilot who can fly with a club group or with friends, without depending on an instructor to manage every decision. A pilot who requires that level of support is not ready for an independent licence — and will not be signed off until they are.
Cost Summary
| Phase | What it covers | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | Beginner course — 3 sessions, all gear included | R12,500 |
| Phase 2 | Online theory & open-book exam (self-paced) | R750 |
| Phase 3 | Licence flights — group rate, April–September | ~R13,000 |
| Total training cost (Phases 1–3) | ~R26,000–R27,000 | |
SAHPA and SACAA licence fees — full annual membership and CAA licence application (approximately R2,000 combined) — are paid directly to those bodies by you after completing student training. These are not Air School costs and are not included in the figures above.
After the Basic Licence
The three phases above lead to a SAHPA Basic Licence. What comes next is a separate question — and a separate service.
A Basic Licence permits flying at SAHPA-registered sites under appropriate supervision. The majority of Western Cape sites are graded for Basic Licence — Lion’s Head, Kommetjie, Hermanus, Du Toits Kloof, Constantiaberg East, and the Porterville sites you trained at. Most pilots spend their first year building hours at these locations, developing thermalling technique and reading conditions independently.
The next milestone is the Sport Licence, which removes the supervision requirement and opens sites that demand more — Signal Hill, Table Mountain, and Kirstenbosch are all Sport Licence sites. Beyond that: long XC routes along the Western Cape ranges, hike-and-fly in the mountains, and the SA competition calendar. Getting to Sport Licence requires additional logged flights, a skills assessment, and a further exam.
Air School Paragliding offers a Licensed Pilot Mentorship Programme for Basic Licence holders — an ongoing online mentorship covering flight planning, post-flight analysis, weather interpretation, gear guidance, and Sport Licence preparation. This is not part of the student training pathway and is priced separately at R250/month. See airschool.co.za/training/licensedairschool.co.za/training/licensed for details.
What this training is for
Air School Paragliding does not run short holiday courses. The licence pathway exists to produce pilots who still fly years from now — not certificates issued to people who drop out in their first season.
Teaching is an investment of time and attention. The measure of a successful student is not a licence obtained — it is a pilot who builds genuine skill, makes sound decisions in the air, and keeps flying. Students who complete training and leave the sport within a year represent a failure of the process, not a success.
Phase 1 is the right starting point for anyone who wants to experience what paragliding actually involves before committing to the full pathway. Beyond that, training is structured around genuine progression. If a condensed course that fits a holiday window is what you are looking for, this is not the right school.
Your instructor
Ria Moothilal has been in the air since 2004 — 1,300+ skydives, 200+ BASE jumps, 2,000+ paragliding flights. Big XC in the Himalayas and Western Cape, vol biv crossings, and international competition in China, Réunion, and South Africa. With a BSc in Engineering and a background in data science, the approach to instruction is systematic, precise, and built on understanding rather than repetition.
Air School Paragliding (Pty) Ltd holds a Declared Training Organisation certificate from the SACAA — the highest civilian aviation training accreditation in South Africa. You are not learning to paraglide from a hobby enthusiast. You are being trained by a professional aviation educator with verified credentials appropriate to each phase of training.
Ready to start?
Contact Ria directly. Scheduling is built around suitable weather conditions and your availability — it’s an active conversation, not a fixed calendar booking.
Air School Paragliding (Pty) Ltd · SACAA Declared Training Organisation · SAHPA Grade B & C Instructor
airschool.co.za · +27 78 095 8136 · info@airschool.co.za