3-DAY THERMAL CLINIC
3-Days of Thermalling Guidance in Sunny Utah
THE CLINIC
3-Day Clinic: $695
Professional pilots Zion Susanno and William Pardis bring their 3 Day Thermalling Clinic to Utah, giving pilots new to thermalling a chance to learn and improve their technique. The clinic will be based at the three main thermalling sites of Francis Peak, The V and West Mountain depending on what offers the best conditions based on the day's weather.
Your Guides
Get to know the fun and qualified crew that will be guiding you in the air and on the ground as you tour along the beautiful South Pacific coast of Costa Rica
ZION SUSANNO
Owner and Founder of Zion Paragliding, APPI Paragliding Instructor, APPI Pro Tandem Instructor
XC and Paragliding World Cup Pilot
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Zion has been flying since the age of 15, giving him a total of 12 years flying, over 10,000 flying hours and has flown with more than 2000 passengers in tandem. Zion is a qualified instructor through APPI, which offers the highest standard of instructor training international. As an instructor and a Costa Rican, you are in the best hands when it comes to local flying knowledge combined with expertise for teaching and in-air guidance. Outside of teaching and flying tandems, Zion enjoys XC paragliding, competing and hike and fly missions - what can we say except the guy loves to fly and that’s why he’s the World record holder for the fastest ground speed on a paraglider, and longest distance and triangle in Central America.
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Owner and founder of Zion Paragliding
APPI Paragliding Instructor
APPI Pro Tandem Instructor
Number 1 ranked pilot in Costa Rica
First Aider
Bilingual in Spanish and English
Second to none local knowledge of flying sites and weather
William Pardis
Advanced Paragliding and Tandem Instructor, Tour Guide
XC and Paragliding World Cup Pilot, All Round Adventurer
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Will, a dual national of the USA and the Philippines, learned to fly in 2015 and has been hooked ever since. In just 6 years will has racked up over 2000 flying hours and gone from a novice, to tandem instructor, competition pilot and now a serious hike and fly pilot, hoping to make it into the X-Alps one day. Will has been working with Zion since 2018 and has extensive knowledge of flying in Costa Rica. Will’s precision in flying and his calm, laid-back demeanour, translates in the sky to a relaxed flight when under his guidance.
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Holds USHPA Advanced Paragliding and Tandem Instructor Rating in the USA
World Cup Competitor
Gin Gliders R&D Test Pilot
Number 1 ranked pilot in the Philippines
First Aider
Bilingual in English and Filipino
Next Clinic Dates
Coming Soon
Clinic Schedule
Day 1
Meeting at main landing zone of the days chosen flying site:
Meet your instructors, Zion and Will, and the other pilots in the Thermalling Clinic.
Share your thermalling experience, flying level and goals for the clinic with your instructors to get the best out of your class time
Theory lesson on how to check the weather forecast and use it to make a flight plan using basic apps on our phones.
Weather briefing from your instructors for the day.
Site introduction to the flying area and landing zone.
Briefing on group flying for thermalling together and how to work withother pilots in the air
Transportation to take-off for flying:
Take-off briefing and group observation of the weather
Flight plan agreed with Zion and Will based on the day’s conditions
Prepare your equipment for the days flight.
Once airborne:
In air radio guidance from your two expert instructors
Retrieve vehicle following the group in the air to pick up pilots as needed
Post Flight Group Lunch (food not included)
Lunch followed by debrief and question time
Day 2
Use the knowledge you learnt on day 1 to check the weather conditions for the day and be prepared when showing up to meet the group at the landing zone.
Meet at the main landing zone for the days chosen flying site
Site introduction to the flying area and landing zone if a new site for the day
Discuss the weather conditions for the day
Transportation to the take-off for flying
Observation of the weather conditions at the take-off
Daily site and weather briefing
Devise flight plan appropriate for the days flying conditions
Once airborne:
In air radio guidance from your two expert instructors
Retrieve vehicle following the group in the air to pick up pilots as needed
Post clinic group lunch and debrief with thermalling talk from Zion and Will (food not included)
The talk topics will include:
Thermalling the core and mapping the thermal
Speed bar use
Looking for signs of lift near you
Convergence lift
Thermalling in strong wind
Weak climbs and bubbles
Having a landing on glide
Flying in busy air
What’s a good pilot?
Day 3
Use the knowledge you learnt on day 1 and 2 to check the weather conditions for the day and be prepared when showing up to meet the group at the landing zone.
Meet at the main landing zone for the days chosen flying site
Site introduction to the flying area and landing zone if a new site for the day
Discuss the weather conditions for the day
Transportation to the take-off for flying
Observation of the weather conditions at the take-off
Daily site and weather briefing
Flight plan appropriate for the days flying conditions
Once airborne:
In air radio guidance from your two expert instructors
Retrieve vehicle following the group in the air to pick up pilots as needed
Post Flight Group Lunch (food not included)
Group debrief of the days flying and question time
Clinic round-up
Tour Details
What’s Included
3 Days of Thermalling Guidance
Daily site and weather briefings
1-to1 time with an instrcutor to discuss current levels and goals you’re working towards
Transport from the LZ to the take-off
Retreive from LZ
What You Need
Minimum IPPI ParaPro2 paragliding certification or national equivalent such as USHPA P2
Paragliding Equipment
Certified paraglider (EN B or above)
Certified harness
Reserve parachute
Helmet
Unlocked dual-band VHF radio – we recommend the Yaesu FT-270 or FT-65R.
Ability to confidently take off and land on your own.
Warm clothes – you will feel the cold once you’ve thermalled to cloud base
Comfortable and sturdy shoes
Anything else that is usually in your paragliding kit
Who is the 9-Day Adventure Tour Right For?
IPPI P2 and P3 Pilots or national equivalent license holders, who want to learn and improve their thermalling technique or maybe have not done much thermalling - From experience, we have noticed that all pilots learn more when in a group of mixed abilities
Pilots who want to explore the paragliding in
the Salt Lake City area with a guide that knows the local flyingPilots who can launch and land with minimal or no help
Not Included
Airline flights or travel to the destination of Utah
Food and drink
Cost of any additional or optional activities
Insurance
Accomodation
Pricing
All prices are subject to local tax at 13% for card, venmo or paypal payments
$695 3-Day Clinic
What’s Included
3 Day Thermal Clinic
Includes everything listed under tour details
