Fly With A Bird

BOOK A FLIGHT FOLLOWING THIS INSTRUCTION LIST:

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1. Parahawking is very weather-dependent, and dependent on our birds’ condition and schedule. There are no guarantees of the weather being right on any given day. Participants need to commit to being at the Torrey Pines Gliderport from 12PM until at least 4PM to maximize chances of soaring with a bird.

2. The flight lasts 20-25 minutes, and usually the falcons spend about half that time close to us in the air.

3. The experience costs $500 per participant, of which $200 goes to the Gliderport for the tandem paragliding flight, and $300 goes to Total Raptor Experience for a private falconry lesson and use of the bird.

4. Spring and summer are the best seasons. Santa Ana conditions, more frequent in fall and winter and hard to predict, greatly reduce the chances of a successful flight. We work from a call list, to account for the unpredictability of weather conditions, we will call you if we think we can go parahawking on a given day.

5. To be placed on our call list during spring and summer, please send an email request here. Keep in mind we don't guarantee availability. Please include: name, phone, email, weight (see below) of all interested participants, if you can walk up a trail for 350ft gain, and requested dates (please send 3 dates that would work with your schedule). If we do not receive all required information we will not answer your email.

6. During fall and winter, you can write us 2 days in advance to inquire about the current forecast. We should be able to tell you what the chances are to fly while you are in town. Keep in mind we don't guarantee availability. Please send an email request here. Please include name, phone, email, weight (see below) of all interested participants, if you can walk up a trail for 350ft gain, and dates you are in town. If we do not receive all required information we will not answer your email.

7. The experience requires about an hour of preparation to learn to feed the bird in the air, learn to help launch and land the glider, and to fill out the somewhat onerous paperwork (waivers). 

8. Participants need to dress warmly in appropriate clothes - long sleeves and pants, shoes with good grip and some ankle support, etc. If there’s not enough wind to soar, we may land on the beach and need to hike back up to the Gliderport (moderately strenuous 350 foot hike). 

9. Our chances of “staying up” are somewhat dependent on our total weight. For these reasons, we need to know how much each prospective parahawking student weighs, and how able they are to make the hike back up from the beach if that is required. We can accommodate anyone with enough consistent wind, but that part is controlled by the weather gods.