Legal and operational details

1. Release, waiver, & assumption of risk  All students must agree to and sign our release of liability, waiver of legal rights, and assumption of risk (RWA) agreement.  If you are training for paragliding (not powered paragliding), you must also agree to and sign the RWA's of our certifying organizations PASA and USHPA.
   
   
2. Weather  All training is subject to weather conditions at the training site and can be canceled at any time and rescheduled.
   
   
3. NO Refunds  There are no refunds of student fees as a result of lessons being canceled due to weather conditions.  Lessons canceled as a result of weather will be rescheduled.  If we are unable to complete a program due to an operational shutdown, we will pro-rate a refund of tuition.  There are no refunds or exchanges for students who terminate their training program with us.  Programs are not transferable to another individual.  However, we will refund your tuition paid if you have not yet signed the RAW's.
   
   
4. Missed training  A surcharge up to 50% of the original tuition paid may be charged if a student has missed training for more than (8) weeks unless it is our fault.
   
   
5. Reservations for training are required and are not confirmed until the full tuition fee for the program is paid.  Southwest Airsports LLC reserves the right to modify, change, or delete any aspect of the training programs or fees at any time.  All previous editions of this web page are obsolete.
   
   
6. Warnings  Any form of sport aviation, including paragliding, is inherently dangerous and can result in death or serious injury to the pilot.  Extreme caution must be observed at all times.  Paragliding is not a casual sport that you can safely do once in a while, such as with most other sports.  It is an extreme sport.  Your long term safety depends on regular practice and training.  Those who paraglide assume significant risk to their lives and safety.
   
   
7. Dealing with anxiety  If you tend towards panic or get disoriented easily, paragliding is probably not for you.  This sport has many dangers and requires steady nerves to do it safely.  The good news is that most people can overcome their natural anxiety/fear of heights enough to fly safely and enjoy this unusual sport.  New pilots have to be patient with themselves as it may takes dozens of flights.
   
   Take up this sport if you think you would love the prospect of being like a soaring bird flying above the world and are willing to assume the risks.  If you train carefully, these risks are greatly lessened.  It is not unnatural to sometimes have modest anxiety while flying a paraglider – it is a good attitude to have as it helps promote proper respect for our sport.
   
   
8. Operations plan  How we prepare for training and what to expect when you begin your training, fly a tandem, or take a discovery flight.
   
   
9. Emergency action plan  If something goes wrong, what do we do?
   
   
10. Risk management plan and training sites  How do we manage risk at our flying and training sites?
    
    
11. Risk management plan for recreational towing operations  We do recreational towing on Highway 9 in southern New Mexico.  Pilots often get higher than 10,000' MSL with this type of tow.

We fly because we love paragliding as there is nothing in the entire world like it.  The experience is euphoric.