3-day cross-country course · Queenstown & Wānaka 2027
Find the climb.
Choose the line.
Make the distance.
You can already stay up. Now learn to leave the familiar hill with a plan—surrounded by a small group and guided by instructors in front and behind.
Very limited places
A deliberately small group.
Close radio guidance, shared decisions and room for individual feedback on every flight.
03 days / 02 instructors / 01 clear goal
XC
Cross-country progression
Mid-January
Three focused days built around the summer cross-country window.
Application only
Places are offered to pilots whose current experience fits the group.
Thermal tandem
Feel brake pressure, bank and core position with an instructor beside you.
2 instructors
One leads the route. One supports the group from behind.
3 days
A concentrated progression from preparation to distance.
Thermal tandem
Feel brake pressure, bank and core position with an instructor beside you.
2 instructors
One leads the route. One supports the group from behind.
Digital preparation
Arrive ready to use the flying days for decisions and practice.
01
The gap between thermalling and travelling
Staying up is only
the beginning.
Cross-country begins when you stop treating each thermal as the destination.
You need to judge when to stay, when to leave, which line to take and when the day is telling you to change the plan. This course turns those moving decisions into a repeatable flying process—with experienced voices around you while you practise it.
The real progression
Three shifts that
unlock distance.
The kilometres come later. First, your decisions need to become clearer, earlier and less expensive in height.
01
Feel the core
Recognise the brake pressure and bank angle that keep you connected to the strongest lift.
Technique
02
Leave with purpose
Know when another circle is helping—and when it is costing the time and altitude needed for the next move.
Timing
03
Choose the line
Use terrain, clouds, wind and other pilots to select a route while preserving options if the climb is not there.
Judgement
Three days · one progression
Every flight has
a purpose.
Day one calibrates your technique. Days two and three turn that technique into early starts, route decisions and distance.
Day 01
Calibrate
Optimise the system.
Then feel the thermal.
We begin with gear optimisation, making sure your equipment supports the kind of flying you want to do.
Then we fly thermal tandem. With an instructor on the same wing, you can feel how much brake pressure to use, how tightly to turn and how the turn changes as the core moves.
• Gear optimisation
• Thermal tandem training
• Brake pressure and bank angle
• Finding and holding the core
Day 02
Connect
Start early.
Begin linking climbs.
An early-morning cross-country flight gives the group the first usable route window. An afternoon thermic flight follows, with distance again the goal.
• Early XC flight
• Afternoon thermic flight
• Radio-guided route decisions
• Flight review and next priority
Day 03
Extend
Make more of
the day.
We repeat the early XC and afternoon thermic rhythm, applying the previous day’s learning with greater independence and clearer decisions.
• Early XC flight
• Afternoon thermic flight
• Stronger line selection
• Distance with judgement
Support that moves with the group
You are never just following a voice.
One instructor flies in front to help find the line and set the pace. One instructor stays behind the group to see what is happening, keep pilots connected and help if someone loses the climb.
01
Lead instructor
Reads the line ahead
02
Pilot group
Very limited numbers
03
Rear instructor
Supports from behind
Continuous radio communication across the group
“The goal is not to chase kilometres. It is to become the pilot who can create them.”
The method around every flight
Distance is built
before launch.
The course gives each flight a clear cycle: assess, plan, act, review. That is what makes the learning transferable to your own flying.
01
Read the day
Assess the weather, the usable window and what the sky is likely to do—not merely what you hope it will do.
02
Build the route
Choose realistic lines, alternatives and landing options before launch so your first decision is not made under pressure.
03
Fly as a team
Stay connected by radio while the lead instructor finds the line and the rear instructor keeps the group supported.
04
Debrief the evidence
Review what worked, where height or time was lost, and the one decision that will improve the next flight.
PRE
Before day one
Pre-course digital learning
Learn the language.
Use the flying days.
The digital course gives the group a shared framework before meeting. You arrive ready to apply the ideas in the air, use the radio clearly and make the most of every flyable window.
Available before the practical course.
Who this is built for
Ready to move beyond
the home thermal?
This course is designed for qualified pilots who already fly independently, have begun thermalling and want a much more structured route into cross-country flying.
Before confirming your place, we look at your recent flying, equipment, confidence and goals. The group works best when the pilots are at a compatible stage.
Limited numbers
Fewer pilots means better positioning, clearer radio calls and feedback that is specific to your flight—not generic advice for a crowd.
Straight answers before you commit
Common XC
questions.
Cross-country courses depend on pilots, weather and the day. These are the useful things to understand before we plan yours.
Mid-January · Application only
Apply for a place.
Join the waiting list.
Tell us what you fly, where you fly, your recent thermal experience and what you want cross-country to become. Applications help us create a small, compatible group and make every flying window count.
Mid-January · Application only
Join the waiting list
Apply for one of the deliberately limited places.
Building the foundations
Advanced pilot courses
If you need stronger canopy, mountain or thermal foundations first, we can help you choose the most useful course before XC.
We teach people to fly.
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