A Bay Area Hang Gliding School
Local instruction at Ed R. Levin County Park, led by an experienced pilot and instructor with eight years of teaching experience.
Hang gliding instruction in the Bay Area proper.
NorCal Hang Gliding trains at Ed R. Levin County Park in the South Bay. For students coming from San Jose, the Peninsula, the East Bay, or the greater Bay Area, that matters: you can learn at a mini mountain hang gliding site.
Ed Levin gives students something unusually valuable: a true progression of launches at one site. Training can begin from a launch around 50 feet above the landing area, then advance through higher launches in stages, eventually reaching launches roughly 1,750 feet above the valley. Each step adds altitude only after the student has demonstrated the skills and consistency needed for the next one.
The goal is not simply to give someone one exciting flight. NorCal Hang Gliding is set up to teach people how to become pilots. Training combines hands-on hill work, ground school, weather and site knowledge, video review, and preparation for USHPA ratings as students progress from their first runs toward independent flight.
Mike Briganti
Mike has been teaching hang gliding for eight years. As a new pilot, he learned from many different instructors. One of those instructors later became a close friend and mentor after Mike earned his Hang 2 rating. They flew together often, and that mentorship became a lasting influence on Mike's decision to become an instructor himself. Years later, Mike would eventually come to own the school that mentor had started.
His teaching style is hands-on and practical. Students get direct coaching on launches and landings. Progress comes from doing the basics well, then adding altitude and complexity when the student is ready.
Local access. Progressive training. A real path to becoming a pilot.
Start around 50 feet, move through intermediate launches, and progress toward launches roughly 1,750 feet above the valley.
Students build launch, control, landing, judgment, and confidence before moving to the next launch.
One of Mike's early instructors became a longtime flying friend and mentor — and a major influence on his decision to teach. Years later, Mike took over the school that mentor had founded.