A little over two years ago I was with a friend taking his nephew for a introduction flying lesson in a Cessna four seater for the nephew's birthday. I was in one of the back seats being bumped around by turbulence.

We were flying south along the coast of Southern  California when the instructor said "Keep our altitude at 1500 feet so we don't scare the Paraglider Pilots below on your left." I looked down and saw several Paragliders floating along the cliffs. One was parked and it seemed like the pilot was just enjoying the Ocean view. To say the least I was amazed and suddenly really excited!

I have always wanted to fly and a few months before I had taken a helicopter lesson. That was really cool but turns out it is a bit too pricey for me to learn to fly helicopters. I was then thinking about flying a fixed wing small plane (and still do) but when I saw what was going on at what turned out to be the world famous Torrey Pines Glider Port I knew my life was about to change. I was this event that convinced me to take up the sport of Paragliding.

Fast forward two years...I just received my P3 rating and was headed down to SoCal for some Memorial Day weekend fun. Torrey Pines was finally within reach and my dream of flying there was about to be achieved.

This is a GREAT site! The Layout, Kiting and Launch areas are all on a "golf course" like surface. The wind seems to be always perfect (12-15 mph). Being a former resident of Southern California I can believe it when they say the westerly winds blow at Torrey on average 320 days a year... about 80% of that time it will be blowing at least 7-8mph... which means lots-o-flyin'!

When you arrive at Torrey (very easy to get to) you go to the Site shop right there at launch and register. You need a minimum of a P3 rating to fly at Torrey. The web site (flytorrey.com) states that you need a P3 AND 50 hours of flight time but you can contact Gabriel or David Jebb at the Gliderport to discuss your rating and skills. They may need to observe you before you launch to make sure you are ready for Torrey.  Fees are about $12.00 for a day pass. You can get a yearly pass for about $60.00 if you plan to fly there often.

For first timers it is required that you watch a 15 minute video describing the rules of the Gliderport. It is a well done video that points out the launch and landing areas, how and when to use the launch window. Note that hangliders, sail planes and RC planes are other traffic that has to be dealt with as well. This is all covered very nicely in the video!

You will need a whistle to fly at Torrey. They are available at the Site shop. This is for safety as there can be a lot of traffic at the site.

If you bring your own spectators there is plenty of room and seating to watch the action. There is even a burger shack right there at launch with tables and umbrellas. Folks this is heaven.

Ok the ride. Killer, beautiful, awesome, spectacular...wonderful!

If you looking for a relaxing flight with FANTASTIC views (beaches, piers, bazillion $ homes that we would not see otherwise, a cliff side golf course, etc.) then this is the flight you have been looking for! The hardest part about this is getting to the edge of the cliff to elevator off into flight mode. I highly recommend Torrey Pines. Fly there as soon as you are able!

Check it out...

Air California Adventures, Inc. & Torrey Pines Gliderport
2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Drive, La Jolla CA 92037 - USA
Tel: (1) 858.452.9858  Fax: (1) 858.452.9983
Windtalker: (1) 858.452.6802
http://www.flytorrey.com  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Sorry I didn't have a camera with me and couldn't get permission to use stock photos from their site for this printing. Oh I didn't mention that you can also join the Torrey Pines "Twilight Patrol". With a strobe that you can buy at the shop you can fly for half an hour after a beautiful Southern California sunset!