I’m Ondra, the instructor behind ParaPro. I’ve been flying for eight years and teaching paragliding in New Zealand for most of that time.
NZHGPA Instructor · Tandem Pilot · 1000+ solo hours
Flying became more than a hobby
I started paragliding eight years ago, and pretty quickly found myself wanting to understand more about the sport and help other people learn it.
I started as an assistant instructor trainee, progressed to assistant instructor and eventually became a qualified NZHGPA instructor. Since then I’ve worked with several paragliding schools in New Zealand and have had dozens of students progress through their training.
Along the way, paragliding has taken me well beyond Christchurch. I’ve flown, trained and competed in different parts of New Zealand and Europe, and in NZ winter I fly tandems in Austria during the European season from where I bring knowledge outside the NZ pond.
The more I fly, the more I realise that good paragliding isn’t about doing the most impressive thing possible. It’s about understanding what is happening, making good decisions and knowing your own limits
I don’t want to teach you how to follow instructions
My job as an instructor isn’t to make every decision for you.
It’s to help you understand how to make those decisions yourself.
As your skills develop, I’ll gradually step back and give you more responsibility. You’ll learn to look at the weather, assess the site, prepare your equipment and think about what you’re about to do before you do it.
The goal is to get you to the point where you’re flying the paraglider yourself, making sensible decisions and understanding why you’re making them.
The best student isn’t the one who can do everything an instructor tells them. It’s the one who eventually knows what to do without being told.
Still learning. Still flying.
I continue to fly, train and compete in New Zealand and Europe, including flying tandems in Austria. Different flying environments and instructors have given me new ideas that I bring back into ParaPro’s training.
Want to learn with ParaPro?
Start with an Intro Day and see what flying is all about.