Year-Round Hang Gliding & Paragliding

We've got many sites to choose from - Big Air at Mingus, Thermal Ridge at Shaw Butte, the Craters up north & good old South Mountain never disappoints.

Since 1975 the Arizona Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (previously known as AHGA) has represented free flight pilots in the Grand Canyon State. Our members share a fanatical interest in soaring hang gliders and paragliders, the sites we fly from, and 'the life' we all live. Sometimes we launch by running off a mountain into the blue (foot launch) or we can be towed aloft by an ultralight or a ground-based unit, but to us it's all the same: Get me up so I can play in the most amazing playground ever known to man!

Do you want to fly? Learning to fly will take some time and effort. Look at it this way: walking is something we were designed to do, and how long did it take you to learn to do that? Then again birds can fly and they have tiny little bird brains Talk to one of our instructors (links on the left) to learn to hang glide or paraglide. Either way, get ready for an adventure that will last you the rest of your life.

A comprehensive list of FAQs is available from the U.S. Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association.

Stay In The Know - Attend a Club Meeting

Promoting Site Preservation, Safety, Fun and Growing Our Friendly Community.

The Arizona Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are held at the Carlos O'Briens Restaurant on the SW corner of Northern and 12th Street at 7:30pm. Meetings are open to anyone interested in hang gliding and/or paragliding, with any level of experience, if any. Discussions concentrate on site development and maintenance issues, organizing flying events, and other ongoing topics, plus the monthly eagle, turkey, and driver awards, and good, old-fashioned socializing.

Membership for Arizona pilots is $50 per year. Membership includes a subscription to The Thermal Flyer (our monthly newsletter), the opportunity to vote on issues and for officers, access to our private forums, invitation to 'members only' events, and bragging rights for being a member of the coolest free flight club around. Visiting Pilots are required to join the AZHPA to fly our sites, pay only $25 per year, and get the Thermal Flyer. Additional fees and deposits are required for gate keys to some flying sites, flying events, and hang gliding merchandise.

Don't be a stranger, come to a meeting and get involved.

A Fun Competition Focused On Helping You Go Far

If you are intrigued by flying cross country, seeing how far you can go, testing your abilities and expanding your horizons as a pilot, check out the AZXC 2010 contest pages and see if it is for you!