Start times vary each day depending on the weather conditions. You will receive an email and text from the system the evening before to provide a weather update and start time for the morning if it is flyable. Meeting point is at our Airsports Centre unless otherwise specified. Please aim to arrive 10-15 minutes before the stated time.

Our nearest train station is Woldingham with lines running from London Victoria and London Bridge. We are a 20-30 minute walk from the station.

Buses come from all across London to our location. Most of our pilots get off at Warlingham Sainsburys and then walk 20 minutes to the centre.

By car, we are only 18 miles from central London and just off J6 of the M25. However, do always check the drive times due to traffic and delays.

We ask that you please give us 48 hours notice if you intend to cancel your training day. This is so that we are able to give our instructors sufficient notice beforehand. We understand that sometimes life doesn’t always go as planned, however if you do cancel with less than 48 hours notice we will be unable to refund your training day or allow you to rebook that day, as per our terms and conditions.

If the weather conditions are unsuitable for flying, the day will be cancelled as it is unsafe to teach. You will be reallocated your day on the online booking system and will be able to rebook online for a future date.

We teach every day of the year that the weather conditions allow, and run all of our courses every day of the week. Whilst the summer months and long days often appear best for flying, we have some of our best flying days in autumn and winter as the air can be smoother with less thermic activity – ideal when you are learning to fly.

On the day please make sure you bring: 

• Plenty of water (2 litres) as you will be outside and active for most of the day.
• A packed lunch/snacks
• Good boots with ankle support, eg. hiking boots.
• Please wear casual clothing, we would recommend long trousers and sleeves to protect from the elements.
• In winter please wear lots of layers,
• And make sure to bring sun cream in the summer!

Accommodation is available (subject to prior arrangement) either in our farm cottage or your own tent/caravan. Please get in touch with us beforehand if you plan on staying overnight. All accommodation is self-catering, and we have local amenities nearby:

• Village shop – 1 mile
• Sainsburys – 2 miles
• Local village Warlingham has pubs, restaurants, a Tesco and a petrol station
• Caterham – 4 miles away with lots of little shops
• Our local train station is Woldingham – 1 mile away

We have sites for multiple wind directions and our Airfield allows us to teach in all wind directions. We also use other sites across the UK for advanced flying.

The minimum age limit to start learning to fly in the UK is 14, and the minimum age to hold an Elementary Pilot or Club Pilot license is 16. There is no upper age limit, if you’re willing to learn, we will teach you! 

We teach people of all shapes and sizes. The minimum weight is 45kg and maximum weight is 120kg. This is for safety reasons as gliders are designed to fly with a specific load.

The number of people we teach varies day to day. Typically, we train in groups of 2-8 people.

Every student must be a member of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA). This is mandatory and gives you third party insurance.

Should you require additional personal accident cover you must arrange this beforehand. If you are booking a Fun Day your BHPA insurance is included in the price. If you are booking a course you can sign up for BHPA membership on your first day with us. For the latest BHPA membership fees click here

We encourage everyone to become a Green Dragons club member once they have completed their training. We have set up WhatsApp groups for our members to enable them to rapidly communicate their imminent flying plans, whether updates on the hill, and whether coaches or instructors will be present. As a club member you will be kept in the loop with future flying plans and general discussions about flying at Green Dragons. 

We have found that these groups have helped our students and pilots to network and meet like-minded pilots and get people flying more. They are meeting a flying together at our sites and car sharing to various locations, including the South Downs and Wales. 

At all times, we do advise that you remain aware of your own personal training and skill level, whilst taking the advice of those who are either your instructors or local club coaches, especially if the flying site is unknown to you as they will be more qualified to ensure that your flights are safe and fun. 

BHPA UK National governing body - www.bhpa.co.uk 

CAA UK National Airspace governing body - www.caa.co.uk 

DHV equipment certification- www.dhv.de 

Weather: 

Weather Rain Radar – https://meteoradar.co.uk 

Windy - https://www.windy.com