My wife, 13 year old son, and I just took a hang gliding lesson with Oregon Hang Gliding School and it was so great! John is a wonderful instructor and is very obviously passionate about the sport. The lesson was about 2 to 2 1/2 hours of classroom and simulator time, with the rest of the lesson spent being hooked up to the hang glider and working on getting off the ground. It was a really good blend of actually learning about hang gliding and having the experience of doing it. John really went above and beyond to give us a great experience. We would definitely recommend this! read more

Oregon Hang Gliding School - Taking off! - Hang Gliding Near Me - Corvallis, Oregon

Oops. After 30 years of teaching, providing service but also depending on prepayment, google and the google calendar for notifications for email for communication, you know something has to go wrong at some time. The complaint from the client about being left hanging, was due to her messages being sent by google to the spam folder and just being busy with other students. Her very small "test" payment was refunded as soon as I discovered the problem. I will offer her a FREE lesson if she is willing to try to coordinate again. read more

I contacted John about a hang gliding lesson and a short tandem ride . He said the wind was in the right direction for Pacific City in the next few days but he wanted to gather some more students to meet him and I in PC to make the trip from Corvallis worthwhile for him. He said he would get back to me and give me a day or two notice. I was coming from Portland. He said I needed to go online and register and pay with Zelle. I prefer PayPal because there is recourse if something goes wrong in the transaction . Zelle is the way he wanted it so I enrolled with them through my banking. He told me to just send a small part of the money for the lesson, to make sure that he received it before I sent the whole amount . So I sent $20, told him I registered and asked him to let me know that he got it OK so I could send the rest. After waiting many days and into the next week I contacted him by phone and email but never heard from John. I finally asked him to send back my $20 via Zelle as there had been not a word from him. After a couple of weeks, he did. I contacted my banking that manages the Zelle account and they told me not to use Zelle unless it is a transaction with someone you know and trust. They said the transaction had gone through fine but after zero communication from John I certainly did not want to send any more money. Wish I could've left a better review but this was a complete non-event. read more

Taking Hang Gliding lessons with John Matylonek at the Oregon School of Hang Gliding was the highlight of our family trip. John is such a great teacher. His understanding of kinesthetic learning, his clear direction, his humor, and his passion for his sport gave us all the tools we needed for our first adventure taking to the skies. For myself, my partner and our thirteen years old daughter, this experience was the Capstone of our trip. It introduced me to a whole new world of flight. Thanks John, this was awesome. read more

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John Matyonek is the instructor from the hang gliding school my girls & husband had for this amazing experience! He worked very well with my 9 yr old, 11 yr old and 36 yr old hubby. I can't say enough good stuff about him as an instructor. He's just one of those genuinely nice people that love what they do and want others to have a great experience trying it and/or taking it up as a hobby/sport. We went to his Corvallis, OR location but I think he also has a location down at the Coast & possibly other sites. He also does a horse riding tour/camp that my kids & husband got to try b/c they arrived so early for their hang gliding lesson. This is not your ordinary horse lesson! You actually go get the horse you want to ride from the praire, talk him into letting you ride him (w/treats & such), clean him and ride him to a blackberry patch to pick, down hills & threw a sheep field! Just an amazing experience for my kids. I highly recommend this experience (good for all ages)!! read more

Oregon Hang Gliding School offers a comprehensive learning environment that helped give me the education I needed to safely and confidently learn to fly. They are the only school in the region to offer lessons during the cold muddy months in the off season and have nice accommodations available for students (including a summer beach house!). All in person training is complimented by an amazing set of articles, lectures and classes on the school's website. John is an extremely patient instructor that goes the extra mile to help you during the learning process. If you plan on flying the unique Pacific Northwest conditions then you owe it to yourself to learn locally from the only full time committed school in the region. They will build a solid and safe foundation of flying skills needed to enter this amazing sport! read more

There is only one way to learn this sport safely, John & Oregon Hang Gliding School (OHGS) are the only way to go. John is the only hang gliding school with a fully integrated online syllabus that provides vital knowledge of weather & techniques for flying sites all over Oregon. John's curriculum teaches students to become lifetime hang glider pilots with comprehensive, in-depth instruction for flying different training sites in the Willamette Valley as well as on the Oregon Coast. With the multitude of training sites & the acquired knowledge gained through experiencing different flying conditions in different places, the transition to more experienced Mountain flying sites all over Oregon, Washington & California is seamless. OHGS demographic encompasses the entire Pacific Northwest & John has plenty of places to stay, from the bunk house in Pacific City to his couch in Corvallis, he definitely goes the extra mile to ensure that his students are comfortable & have a place to sleep at the end of a long day of training. I would highly recommend OHGS to anyone interested in pursuing foot launched aviation. read more