Oregon Hang Gliding Lesson Policies

A full lesson is defined as 5 to 12 flight event opportunities where aerodynamic control is required or 1 to 2 proficiences defined in the OHGS proficiency curriciulum plan. A flight is when the glider picks up its own weight on the hill under your own power two times or when your feet leave the ground once. If this is achieved, "practice, learning and personal flight is possible. If 7 flights cannot be achieved because of weather you will be provided a "windcheck" and will be able to take them at a future date. Once lessons are started (flights taken), flight event opportunities lost due to fatique cannot be redeemed. The instructor reserves the right to stop lessons due to fatigue. Six attendees or more are provided a discount on the normal lesson price due to less attention provided each student. There are no flight limits when a Step package of three or more lessons are purchased. Lesson discounts are provided when equipment is ordered. It requires 14 days (84 hours) and between 80 and 100 ground skimming/midlevel and five alitude flights to gain all hang I and II proficiencies. Special considerations and lesson protocol agreements are made for OHGS full program students

Time and Location

Please reserve the entire day and part of the evening for the lesson. Always check your email or this website's "Lesson News" the evening before the proposed lesson date. You should arrive on time and are expected to stay the entire lesson-day, usually 10:00 am to 4:00 pm for a lesson-day unless tides, weather, or student scheduling dictate a later or earlier meeting time. Please call in the event of late arrivals.

Coastal Cape Kiwanda Training Hill

Coastal Lesson Location

Meet at 6030 Pacific Ave, Pacific City, OR 97135 at 10:00 am, across from the Pacific City Real Estate Office. 1 hour 40 mins from Portland at the:

View Kiwanda Kites Adventure Beach House in a larger map

at the:

Kiwanda Kites Adventures Beach House (now painted copper red and blue)

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Please call 541 913 1339 on the morning the lesson before leaving to make sure the lesson is still on. Please endeavor to be on time, at 10 am - its not fun herding classes, but sometimes both the client and the teacher is delayed by "logistical details" like traffic, rest stops, losing one's direction, equipment/people pick-ups, etc. especially if we are driving from afar to get to ground school. Simply be prepared to communicate via cell phone to cooridinate arrivals. But please try to make it by 10 am. We do have the entire day for a lesson so starting a little late is usually no big deal.

Inland Lessons

We meet at the Corvallis Municipal Airport OHGS Hangar for the first ground school

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Directions:

• Turn on Airport rd from 99W.
• Cross railroad tracks and immediately
• Turn left on Plumley Ave
• and go 500 feet
• Turn right on Plumley Ln
• at sign that says "corporate hangars"
• Call 541 913 1339 at locked gate to get the entry code.

Lessons during the summer season of July, August and September, at the inland training hill, occur earlier, before the thermals and wind picks up.

How to Physically Prepare

Light jogging and lots of stretching of the leg muscles a week(s) before the lesson will eliminate pulled thigh, calve and hamstring muscles. If you haven't been using your legs in exercise lately you are in real danger of pulling/tearing these muscles during the lesson. If this happens we won't be seeing you for another couple months. They do not call hang gliding "foot launched flight" for nothing. Get ready for a vigorous but fun work-out. Please don't underestimate this danger if you are have a sedentary lifestyle. The more in-shape you are in the more you can focus on what we are teaching you. That is why kids do so well!

Things to Bring

For camp students:

• Towel for $2.00 shower at the end of the day.
• Tent, Pad, Sleeping Bag or reservations for lodging or sleepable vehicle.
• Webb County camp reservations (503) 965-5001
• Pacific City Inn Motel reservation: (866)567-3466 Email: reservations@pacificcityinn.com
• Cape Kiwanda Inn Hotel reservation 888-965-7001 or Click here for the Reservations Page

and all students:

• Check, cash (preferred) or card payable before the lesson!
• Baseball cap. This works as a sweat soaker and sun visor under the helmet. It also identifies you as a hang gliding student in the coffee shop!
• Loose fitting shorts or pants. It is sometimes 10 degrees cooler on the coast. Always bring a windbreaker or light jacket.
• I teach in bare feet, but sometimes in very sunny no wind weather, the sand gets very hot - ouch!. Neoprene booties can help protect the feet in these conditions.
• Always bring sun-block and sunglasses
• At LEAST one quart of water per person

for inland hill students:

• Wear loose fitting pants if we are at the inland training hill to protect against grass abrasions
• Hiking shoes and later, knee-high $12.00 rubber boots are a necessity at the inland training hill.
• Some extra "dry" socks may be smart.
• In cooler/wetter weather, bring wool nongrippy gloves so that fingers remain warm and flexible against the cold aluminum control bar but allow the hands to slide along the bar.

Food and Hygiene

Pack a healthy lunch that will provide energy but not cause gastrointestinal problems. Fruit and nuts are great! Restroom facilities are extremely primitive. Toilet paper is provided. Showers are available after the lesson so bring a towel and soap. We eat dinner at 6:00 pm in one of Pacific City's resturants after the lesson is over to debrief, do paperwork

Alertness

The consumption or use of drugs, including alcohol, is not permitted before or during the lesson. Cigarette smoking is not permitted during the lesson or during dinner. There is no real difference between disorientation due to drugs or fatigue during strenuous exertion. The instructor reserves the right to gauge any particular student’s level of fatigue or alertness during the lesson and restrict any more activity by the student.

Friends and Family

Friends and family may attend the first two lessons. However, students undergoing the step program or sustained lesson-days must decide if significant others will be present during all subsequent lessons or none of the lessons. This decision eliminates a significant factor in performance - showing off in the presence of others. The instructor reserves the right not to teach a lesson if this or any other lesson policy is not observed.

Equipment, Safety, and Maturity

Gliders, harnesses, helment, radios, and kneepads (for the inland hill) are provided. Oregon Hang Gliding, Inc. incurs any cost due to equipment damage. Thus, you must follow all the instructor's perscriptions no matter how impatient you are to fly unassisted and high. However, the student is expected to follow all instructional guidelines and treat equipment better then if they owned it. Of course, your personal safety also depends on it. Broken aluminium also leads to broken bones.

Lesson Fee and Usage Policy

• Purchasing a 3 lesson step package provides no flight limits. We practice till the instructor deems your fatique is affecting performance. Step packages and extended lessons expire 7 flyable and scheduled weekends from date of contract and issue of Step Card. Equipment purchase assures the discount price.
• In part, you are paying for reserving the instructor, keeping him on call for the appropriate weather and keeping lessons available for yourself. You must consistently make yourself available and try to be flexible in your schedule. Your reservation requires the instructor to put forth effort in planning, preparation, rescheduling other students and forecasting. Its alot of work!
• Two attendees must be present for non-private lessons.
• Full lesson payment is required in advance of each lesson or start of training package. Please do not expect a lesson unless the tuition is paid in full before class. A 25% deposit is due on the wednesday before the weekend lesson. Full payment may be made through registration at this website. Otherwise, remainder of the payment can be made before each lesson or package at the lesson site. There are no refunds on used lessons, expired lesson packages, or used training camps. All unused single day lessons expire six months from the date of enrollment.
• Reservations must be made no later than two days before each scheduled potential lesson and cancelled by the next day. No shows and late cancellations will be charged as if they had attended the lesson. Camp enrollees must make reservations 3 days before the start of the camp.
• If Oregon Hang Gliding cancels a lesson, full credit will be applied to the next lesson. If a lesson is only partially completed, the unused portion will be credited to the next lesson. Unused portions of camps are not refundable but may be used toward full credit of future lessons.
• Milestone three lessons packages are non-refundable since this price is retainer for the when the weather is bad. It assures that the instructor does not find other employment preventing us from our future appointments.
• During the busy summer season OHGS Full Program students will be expected to vacation or sick days in the high altitude mountain stage. This prevents conflict with low altitude students and allows the instructor to pay the most personal attention to the dedicated student.

Safety

Remember hang gliding has many risks that must be managed. We must approach the activity with care and good judgement. Wheels, control bar pads, helmets, and radios will be used. A first aid kit will be available at the site with card in it giving the location and information you may need to send for help.

NOTE: Should an injury occur, DO NOT MOVE the victim unless absolutely necessary to remove them from further danger. Only after a thorough examination by someone trained in First Aid and/or Emergency techniques can the victim be moved. The emergency cell phone is available in the rig in the ashtry. The cell phone only works at the top of the dune. Run up to the top of the dune!