Absolutely awesome experience hang gliding is probably one of the best things to do but Paul made…read moreit that much better super informative a real professional at what he does reminded me of top gun

Incredible experience. Best views. Highly recommend. I've been hang gliding once. This is even…read morebetter. This totally beats a helicopter tour.

My boyfriend and I took a hang gliding lesson with Mike bright and early on a Saturday morning (we…read morearrived ~8am) and had a LOT of fun! There were 2 other attendees other than my boyfriend and myself, so our class was a total of 4 people, all of us beginners. One person had taken classes before, but was doing more lessons in order to get his hang 1 license. Mike starts the class by introducing himself and teaching us some safety lessons. We put together the hang glide together as a group, and he teaches us the different parts of the hang glide and how they work together. Then, we roll the glider up a small hill and he gives us some pointers on how to approach the lesson and what to do what we start running and once the glider starts taking off! The lesson was from about 8am to noon. Mike REALLY works for the money he makes during these lessons - he is running up and down the hill, and coordinating to make sure that everyone gets plenty of time on the hang glide. His passion for this sport is palpable, and it's clear he is friends with all the other folks at the area / park that morning who are regular hang gliders. This is a really fun activity to do on a weekend morning, not to mention the VIEWS are amazing. Attaching some photos as proof! Overall I had a GREAT time and would certainly consider taking more classes with Mike!

I found Eric to be an excellent instructor. His patients and willingness to restate his…read moreinstructions, many times over, drives home the needed understanding for the skills he is describing. On those occasions when I was not getting the instructions, he restated them framed differently. His vast knowledge and experience was demonstrated through his patients and confidence. With his guidance I learned very quickly. I have no hesitation recommending Eric for hang gliding instructions. I would have no hesitation if I were starting over asking his support and training. Thank you Eric, for all your help and assuring I learned the skills needed to be a safe pilot! Mikee Bowen

I've had lessons at three different schools. First with Morningside Flight Park in NH; then with…read moreKittyhawk in NC; and finally with Mission Soaring. I enjoyed all of it, but I have to say that the professionalism, quality of instruction and safety at Mission Soaring is outstanding. Pat, Eric and team have tons of experience and know exactly the right thing to say to help students progress *safely* through each stage of learning. The community of pilots at Tres Pinos is amazing and supportive. Experienced graduates often return to take advantage of the unique combination of consistently flyable conditions and expert help with any lingering bad habits. At Tres Pinos you can make friends that will gladly help you at every stage... from your first flights and landings to your graduation to coastal and mountain flying. This is a great place to learn to soar but also to practice humility and grit along the way.

Holy poo that was fun!…read more My buddies and I had our first hang gliding lesson with Mission a couple weeks ago. Since the Milpitas office was closed during Memorial Day week, we didn't have to do the one hour orientation in Milpitas (although most people normally do). They instead sent us the packet with the waivers and directions to the Hollister site via mail. We called the instructor when we arrived and he drove us up through some dried up grassy hills with his truck. There were 4 of us (two per hang glider) and one instructor, which meant that we got plenty of attention, each did 7-8 jumps off the hill each& got 8 ft of air at the end of the day- yea we no beginners yo! I must admit I was scared, but with each jump, the instructor ran beside us and reminded us of what to do (e.g. to steer left/right/up/down). He also reminded me to breathe& relax each time before I took off. Breathing is important! We spent a good 4.5 hours that day on that hill. For $160/per person, this lesson was about $40/hr which in my opinion is much cheaper than sky-diving or tandem hang-gliding. We put away the hang-gliders just as the sun set. Exhausted &hungry, we walked back to the truck ready for the long drive home. To our surprise, our instructor pull out a huge cooler and handed us some beers. "My students always get beer!" He smiled. Already dehydrated from the sun, the beer hit me fast. And then like he can read my mind, he hands me a soda and Iaughs.

I have been training with Jesse (and Dave) for almost 3 years at this point. Jesse is hands down…read morethe best instructor for paragliding in the bay area. As a high intensity sport, you want your instructor not to make decisions for you (except in intro), rather impart skills that you can make better judgement by yourself in variety of conditions. Jesse does just that. He'll help you get started and then push you to improve yourself over time. And the lift community Jesse has built is amazing. People share when and where they plan to fly, lookout for each other and share their knowledge, helping everyone get better.

It took me 4 months sporadically learning with Jesse and Dave toward P2, and each lesson I felt…read moresafe, content and I learned something new. It has been a year since I got my P2 certificate, and I have grown into loving paragliding more and more. Jesse has maintained a loving community where pilots have fun flying and hanging out. I have made many amazing friends for Jesse's trips to Dunlap, Mexico and Woodrat. The dream to fly took me to learn paragliding, and the great people hooked me in. 10/10 recommended if you are interested to learn paragliding in Bay Area!

This place was amazing!!! We weren't sure what to expect because it was our first time going on a…read moreballoon ride, but it's definitely something I can say I'm glad I did. I'll start from he beginning cause there's alot to unfold in this review. We met up at the Napa Valley wine train at 5:30 am. Don't be late cause a few people were and we were waiting on them. They give you your itinerary and you sign a waiver , and the. You meet your pilot. They drove us in their vans to the take off point which was off the train track. See the video, it was amazing. I was worried that the wind might be to much fir the too lift off, but they said if they can't, they have alternative locations. Once we got I'm the air it was very smooth and very relaxing. There we about 20 people in our basket. Not alot of room, but keep in mind your not going to move around in the balloon basket . We rose up in the ir and went where the wind took us. After our pilot explained everything to us we were confident he knew what he was doing . He even took us inside a hillside where we were able to get close to some trees . Landing was pretty smooth. They picked up up with their vans and drive us back. And this is where it goes from 4 stars to 5. We purchase the champagne package which I highly recommend. We got to share a bottle of champagne with our pilot and he told us all about the first hot air ballon, which was way before airplanes , and explained to us where the name Pilot came from. Overall , it was a great end to a great experience and I highly recommend it .

I give it a 4.5. We had to arrive super early and wait for them to set up everything. It was cold…read moreoutside and they did provide coffee, hot chocolate and snacks. We the weather being so unpredictable we had to wait. I was fine with wait because i do value my life. I had the chance to cross off a major item from my bucket list. A hot air balloon ride and wow, what an experience! The views were absolutely breathtaking. Floating high above the landscape, seeing everything from a completely new perspective, was truly magical. The sunrise was especially beautiful as we drifted along, and the silence up there, broken only by the loud occasional burst of the burner, was unlike anything I've ever experienced. That said, there were a few things to consider. The heat from the burner can be overwhelming, especially if you're not prepared for it. I didn't wear a hat, and I really wish I had and i am short 5'2 those blasts of hot air can get pretty intense when they hit you directly! So, if you're planning this trip, definitely bring something to cover your head. The landing was a bit of a wild ride, too. The ground was much harder and more uneven than I expected, and we didn't quite know where we'd land until we were almost on top of it. Also getting in and out can be extremely challenging. It's hard climbing into and out of the basket and it's very tightly packed. Not a lot of space to move. I knew the risks going in but the whole experience was so worth it. Even with those little surprises, it was absolutely incredible. Would I do it again? Definitely not! Despite the heat and the bumpy landing, the beauty of the experience makes it all worthwhile and a one timer for me. I highly recommend it if you're looking for something unique and unforgettable to add to your list of adventures. Just don't forget your hat!

Aren't you the Best in the West, Skydive California? Absolutely YES!!!…read more For first-timers, especially if you're a checklist person, this place truly checks all the boxes you could have. From the people, location, accessibility, communication, hospitality, the kindness and encouragement of every single person, and the happiness they bring to you for doing this, including scheduling/re-scheduling, price, and packages for both jumps and video/photography. Levi (my instructor), you're truly amazing and such a sweetheart. Thank you for the ultimate safest and unforgettable experience of my life so far! Ryan (Video/Photographer), thank you for capturing the memories of my very first skydiving experience so beautifully. Shout out to the entire team. You guys are the BEST! TOP OF THE WORLD EXPERIENCE ONE COULD ASK FOR !! And, for those who keep coming back, you already know why you're addicted. This place is undeniably AMAZING. P.S. I could write an article on how amazing my personal experience was doing this, here!! I am attaching just one photo, but they give us a ton!

I was nervous in choosing a place for my grandson 18th birthday.. once there I felt so much better…read more The whole experience went great his instructor was Levi super nice guy after meeting him I knew he was in good hands. I recommend buying the video package the views are amazing.

Faced my fears and with the comfort and confidence of this entire team, I did it! Thank you to…read moreKevin for inspiring me and for filming an amazing video, Toshi for carrying me through the air, Brian for being there and hopping along m, and for Shaun for running this amazing place! I am so happy I faced this fear, and I cannot wait to go again!

I had my first jump on my birthday and the staff were fun and made me feel safe, both on the ground…read moreand in the air. I had no idea how many people LOVE to squeeze into a small space and jump out of perfectly good flying machine. I will admit that fear made my extremities kind of lock and I found myself grabbing for anything, bird, butterfly....but once the shoot opened even when the death squeeze on my thighs from the straps keeping me from dropping like a turkey from the sky, I could see what looked like the entire world. In that moment, I felt very small and humble but part of something amazing. To the family of Bay Area Skydiving, you made my 62th Birthday Rock. If you get a chance to see a bald black beauty with a Tweety shirt jump out of perfectly good flying machine, know this, Tonia went up, and Toni was the one who landed.