Paragliding Instruction, Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Achim Hagemann

Paragliding Instruction, Paragliding School, Paragliding Equipment Big Island of Hawaii
Achim Hagemann 808 895 9772
Pu’u Loa, Big Island of Hawaii is open now, you must be a member of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Assoc.(USHPA) and the Big Island Soaring Assoc. and be on our list with the Department of Hawaiian Homeland.
Contact: 808 895 9772
Visiting Pilot Info for Pu’u Loa, Hawaii.
Make sure you know your operating limitations, IF you are a Novice you are not supposed to flyanything more than 200 f per m thermals 12-15 mph max and a gust differential of 5 mph
Pu’u Loa routinely exceeds that on top by 1030 am.
NEVER GO OUT THERE ALONE AND DO NOT FLY WITHOUT DIRECT SUPERVISION OF AN INSTRUCTOR UNTIL YOU ARE NOVICE RATED.
About me:
It has been my privilege to be involved in the development of paragliding on the Big Island of Hawaii from the very beginning.

Fly Hawaii is the oldest school in Hawaii, I moved my school from Santa Barbara to the Big Island in 1994 and have been teaching paragliding and hang gliding ever since.
I moved to Hawaii in 1994 after 15 years as a full time United States Hang Gliding Assoc. hang gliding and paragliding instructor in Santa Barbara Ca.
Imagine being a paragliding pilot/instructor coming to the Big Island, looking at Mauna Kea and discovering the great flying potential of this island and nobody was flying paragliders.
I had found my paragliding Shangri La.
It turned out to be a very exciting time pioneering new sites like Shadow Mountain and SW Launch,signing off the first group of paragliding students and developing Pu’u Loa as a training hill. I claim a perfect safety record as an instructor at Pu’u Loa since 1994 with the highest number of students taught.
Mauna Kea is potentially one of the premier hang gliding and paragliding flying sites in the world and our official club training hills are the best and most scenic in the State of Hawaii thanks to the support of the Department of Hawaiian Homelands and a lot of pilots making it all work out.
Check out the picture gallery for a view of our truly special flying and training sites
Finally:

The sport is relatively new in the U.S. There are about 4000 paragliding pilots in the U.S. compared to several hundred thousand around the world. Countries like the U.K, France, Germany all have 10’s of thousands of pilots each and a much more advanced system in training and product development. Pretty much all of the state of the art gear comes from Europe.

Ratings:
Advanced rated hang gliding pilot with turbulence, cliff and cross country sign off
Beginner and Advanced hang gliding instructor
Certified HG School USHGA
Advanced rated PG pilot APA 1988
3 times certified paragliding instructor United States Hang Gliding Assoc. for a total of 15 years as a certified hang gliding /paragliding instructor.

Favorite flights:
Eliminator in my Wills Wing SST. Cerro Gordo. Gunther,( UP Condor) White Mountains. Horseshoe. Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, Big Sur Plaskett Creek. Telluride, toplanding my Duck 180 at Ngorongoro Crater Tanzania, Serengeti National Park. Merango National Park,Tanzania. St.John, U.S Virgin Islands, John’s Folly, Haleakala, Hawaii. Shadow Mountain,Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Kuhboden Switzerland. Tegelberg, winter flight, Wilcox, Santa Barbara, Ca.La Cumbre. Rincon, Coronet Peak, Christchurch NZ.