Bay Area Hang Gliding

Eric is one of the best of trainers. Compared to the many other instructors, we were up and flying on the first runs. More time spent on setup and flat runs really helped prepare. Eric also is one of the most experienced trainers which he shares freely and in context. If your a bucket list-​er there are other places for the experience. This place is for you if your serious in learning a new hobby

Close to one year ago I took a hillside lesson and got completely hooked. I’ve since acquired my novice license and all my gear through Bay Area Hang Gliding. Learning to fly a hang glider is an amazing experience that words do not adequately describe.
Eric and Robert both are great people and incredible instructors. Their first priority is your safety, followed closely by having a good time. You may even get a little lesson on micro meteorology. How watching the grass and trees, and birds flying overhead can give you clues as to what the wind is doing and how best to harness it. Flying a hang glider could be compared to surfing a wave. However, unlike a wave, you can potentially stay in the air for hours. Conditions and skill level dependent.
Also, once you’ve gotten your license there are many flying trips throughout the year to different flying sites. This is more than just a school, it is a community.
So whether you come out for a day just to try it out, or check it off your bucket list. Or you’ve always dreamed of flying like a bird and you continue with lessons. This school is the place to be. I cannot say enough good things about Bay Area Hang Gliding.

My name is Edwing and I’m using my wife’s Unilocal account to write this review. That’s why you see a woman picture on the profile ;-)
I’ve been hang Gliding for almost a year and have had an amazing experience with Bay Area Hang Gliding. Eric (the instructor) is in one word GREAT! His first concern is safety. He teaches you about it and makes you practice it at all times. Even when in group training he makes every student feel like they are having a one on one private session. Don’t expect to be flying in a few lessons. Eric will make sure you have the right skills to get off the training hill and go up to the higher hills. It takes time and dedication but once you have the right training the flying time will come and you’ll be hooked into Hang Gliding for life.
Bay Area Hang Gliding plans trips to different sites. I’ve been in Big Sur and Dunlap so far where I took my family in a camping/​flying trip. There are many other sites in California they’ve talked about and I look forward to visit as well.
If you want to have fun with just some training or Hang Glide in a regular basis Bay Area Hangliding (Eric) is the right choice. This instructor will let you know what you’ve done right or wrong. He’ll guide you and make you understand how to correct your issues and will ensure you have plenty of fun.

I agree with other previous reviews. My lesson with Bay Area Hang Gliding was a lot of fun and something I’ll always remember.
Although the address says Santa Clara, my beginner lesson was at Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas. I arrived at 8:00 am for the lesson, then filled out some forms and later helped set up the hang glider. Then we began taking launches (takeoffs) from a small hill. After a few launches, you slowly get used to running with the hang glider and landing with it. For beginners, you don’t get high off the ground. I’d say no more than 15 feet off the ground. And initially, the first few runs, you’re no more than 5 feet off the ground.
The fun part of the experience is just the feeling of flight and being free. You feel like a bird.
Similar to surfing, hang gliding involves waiting for the right conditions. Sometimes, you’ll have to wait for more than 10 minutes for the right wind conditions. If there’s no wind, it’s harder to get lift and takeoff.
Eric, the instructor, is a great guy. He’s laid back and easy going, but also cares a lot about safety. He doesn’t push people too hard and makes them feel comfortable.

Eric was awesome! My 4 friends and I took an Intro to Hang Gliding Class with him and had a blast. It was from 8am –12pm (with a break in between) and we met up in Milpitas. The funny thing was we thought he was going to set everything up for us… nope! He put us straight to work and had us assist him setting it up. I actually appreciated the hands-​on training though! We first practiced running with the glider on the ground (watch out for all the scattered dung!) before gong on the «bunny slope» where we actually had some lift from the ground. On average, we were probably in the air 3 — 4 feet above ground but I did reach up to 8 feet at one point. THAT was a lot of fun! Eric was so patient with us and really wanted us to get our time in. In the heat, I’m sure he was exhausted running up and down with us but I never heard him complain or rush us through. He always ran with you and never leaves your side so there is nothing to worry about!
And girls, if you’re small and light like me and think the glider is too heavy for you, don’t worry! The wind will do most of the work (and Eric is great at helping you lift it up too). Don’t pass on this class, definitely don’t forget your camera, bring water, and wear your scrubbiest shoes!

Thank you SO VERY much for the hang gliding experience for my birthday. It was AMAAAAZING!!!
Mike was great in coordinating things — he recommended doing a 4-​hr lesson this time of year rather than 1 tandem jump (the wind has to be just right for a tandem). Since I had a group of people, he set us up with 2 instructors and 2 gliders. It was a great choice!
We went on a Saturday in March with instructors John & Eric, and a small group of friends. We had a blast! They were great teachers and I felt we were adept pupils :) We all want to do it again, so expect to hear from us in the near future!
Thanks again!

WOW. I took my boyfriend to hang gliding lessons for surprise birthday present, we had the most amazing experience. Mike is extremely helpful when I first called. I was torn between tandem jump vs lessons, and he patiently walked me through what it was like for each, so that i can decide on lessons. Erik© was our instructor — excellent instructor! He was patient with us, he ran with us every time until we were comfortable, he was super knowledgeable about not only how to fly but also the technical facts behind how hang glider and aerodynamics work. I learned so much. I really recommend the lessons if you are more into extreme activities and you are a DIY type of person. That feeling of getting air for the first time is indescribable. If anything, you will get Great exercise!

My husband and I were visiting the Bay Area for my husband’s birthday, so I got a tandem gift certificate from BAHG as a surprise. Mike was super helpful in the whole process, arranging for the flight, the gift certificate, the timing, and weather updates. Unfortunately, the wind didn’t work in our favor in the few days we were there, so my husband didn’t get to go. Luckily, Mike was very nice about refunding the certificate since we couldn’t go.

I started my training with Mike Jefferson of BayAreaHangGliding, after having found his company website on the internet. I am a Software Engineer working in the silicon valley and have only weekends to train. I needed an instructor who would tailor his instruction around my work schedule and not miss giving classes on weekends. Mike was always there in the training zone before the lesson start time which is around 8 a.m.
The training was usually at Ed Levin County Park, milpitas which has benign conditions for beginner pilots. The training was mostly fun (except the effort needed to hike your glider up the training hill) with just one or two other students training with me at any time and Mike would provide his feedback after each of my flights. Since his is a low volume school he could afford to give me personal attention. He also is a dealer for hang gliding equipment (gliders, harnesses, parachutes, helmets etc.,) and that makes his shop a one stop solution for me.
I got my beginner and novice ratings with Mike. I am currently working towards my Intermediate rating. I consider a good hang gliding instructor as one who can communicate well with you, tailor the lessons around your needs and be interested in your progress as a pilot. Mike is an excellent instructor and a thorough professional. Mike also teams up with other hang gliding instructors who teach at his school like Eric Heinrichs, who happens to be another excellent instructor with thousands of hours of flight experience, who taught me for a few lessons and provided some very valuable tips about safe flying.
I rate my experience with BayAreaHangGliding as very pleasant, fun and thoroughly invigorating and would highly recommend his school to anyone who wants to realize their dream of flight.

I have wanted to try hang gliding ever since I was a wee girl growing up in Fremont and seeing people hang glide off Mission Peak. So imagine how excited I was when my bf was visiting from the east coast and wanted to try it out too!
I called Mike up on a Tuesday and was able to make a reservation for two tandem flights on Saturday afternoon. He was very patient in answering all my questions on the phone. The night before our flight day, he called me again to confirm our meeting time and location since hang gliding is a weather-​dependent activity.
Since I live in San Francisco, we met at Fort Funston (very convenient location for someone in the city) on a gorgeous afternoon. Mike was awesome. He was very clear in his instructions, but didn’t go on and on and on that you had to wait a long time before you could start hang gliding. Apparently the hang gliding world in the Bay Area is pretty small, so Mike knew just about everyone up that cliff that day. They were all very friendly to us and chatted us up between flights. I do have a fear of heights but hang gliding with Mike was one of the most peaceful experiences ever. We took off and landed in the same place, which surprised me because I always thought you had to land lower than your take off point. Anyway, we went up and down the coastline and I felt like a bird! He did have a parachute that I was also strapped to, but he said in his ten years of experience he never had to use it. Flying over Ocean Beach, he said the worst thing that could probably happen was landing on the beach below instead of on the cliff since then you had to hike up the cliff with 75 pounds of gear. But in terms of a danger level, that was nothing. Besides, Mike was experienced enough to not let that happen… at least not during a tandem flight!
Note that he does have a weight limit (200 pounds), and it’s obviously easier to fly with a lighter person. Because we were waiting for the wind to pick up so he could take my boyfriend, I even got to go twice (sorry bf!). My boyfriend did eventually get to go once the wind picked up and Mike took him on a longer 40 minute flight.
As an added bonus, your «pilot license» is valid for 30 days so Mike said if we ever saw him there sometime in the next month, he’d give us a ride for free. Wheee! Thanks for a great Saturday afternoon, Mike!

The best thing I ever did on any birthday ever, I just did last Sunday — hang gliding!
Imagine soaring over a gorgeous green grassy mountain or along the beach in a tandem hang glider, in the air for 45 minutes, looking down at the hovering hawks, accompanied by an experienced pilot who’s having as much fun as you are. It’s an astonishingly beautiful experience to fly, really fly, with no care in the world except to soak up every second of the joy of finally doing what you’ve been doing for years in your dreams!
I’m soooo glad my first hang gliding experience was with Mike Jefferson of Bay Area Hang Gliding, and all future ones will also be with him, because he’s an excellent pilot, a really nice guy who’s easy to talk to, he has at least ten years of hang gliding experience, and he makes you feel comfortable, safe, and at ease. And since he’s independent, his prices are about 25% lower than the other hang gliding places.
Also very important, at least to me, is that he listens to you and he tailors your hang gliding experience to what and where and how and how long you want. Ask him for a wing roll to the left and you get a wing roll to the left. Ditto to the right. Ask him to fly by the launch area so you can scream hello at your envious boyfriend, and he will. And his price is so right. He mounted a camera to the glider and made a video of our entire flight and is going to send it to me. I can’t wait to see it and relive the unbelievable experience of flight.
Mike is such an alright guy, he even took my boyfriend up for a flight that same afternoon! I heart Mike and Bay Area Hang Gliding!

i just went hang gliding on a tandem flight for the first time today, and it was the most awesome experience i’ve ever had! i didn’t know exactly what to expect, but i’ve wanted to do it my whole life – and my flight today totally lived up to all my childhood dreams. it’s surreal being up there in the sky just like a bird… i can’t quite explain what it feels like; i think you just have to get up there and try it to see.
mike, the owner and instructor, was great – friendly and super informative but also laid-​back. he put me at ease right away and even gave me extra time in the air, which was an unexpected gift that made my day since i was loving it up there.
their prices are good (a bit better than the competition’s from what i’ve researched), and they fly in a few different locations in the bay area. i already know based on today’s experience that this is going to be my new obsession, so i’m planning on signing up for their 5-​lesson package. can’t wait to get out there and fly again. wheeeeeeee!!! :D