Hang gliding Pilot and Advanced Pilot ratings: what the BHPA asks for

• What it is: Pilot is the BHPA's 'fully qualified' rating. Advanced Pilot is for the above-average pilot who has mastered their glider.
• What you need first: Club Pilot (Novice) for Pilot. The Pilot rating for Advanced Pilot.
• What you'll learn: Thermalling, landing accuracy, air law, navigation and weather, then cross-country flying.
• Cost: £20 for each rating (BHPA fees from 1 April 2026). The online mock exams are at no cost.
• What's next: Pilot track: competitions, then FAI Delta badges. Passenger track: Dual Pilot. Coaching and teaching track: coaches and instructors (Instructor needs Pilot plus 25 launches in the environment).

Pilot (P)

This is the BHPA's 'fully qualified' rating, and it's your ticket to cross-country. After CP you carry on learning at a club, not at a school, with coaches or instructors guiding your flying tasks.

Hill pilots:

• 3 take-offs and 3 landings in winds under 5mph.
• 2 top landings at each of three different sites.
• Flights from 5 different sites, at least 3 of them inland.
• At least 3 flights of over an hour.
• At least 50 flights and 25 hours logged.

Tow pilots:

• At least 75 flights, with at least 30 to above 800ft.
• 10 flights in each of 4 wind directions, and 3 flights from each of 2 sites.
• 5 flights of over 10 minutes after releasing no higher than 1,500ft.

Everyone:

• 5 controlled landings within 15m of a target, from flights of at least 3 minutes.
• Show you understand slow flight and its dangers.
• Co-ordinated 360° turns both ways.
• 3 thermal climbs of over 1,000ft.
• Fly safely with others, keep a good look-out and follow the Rules of the Air.

The exam: sit it once your flying tasks are done, with a Coach or Instructor who holds the rating as invigilator. Hill pilots can take five short online papers (meteorology, air law, principles of flight in a hang gliding version, human factors and airmanship, and navigation), with 75% needed on each. The other option is one paper of 1 hour 45 minutes, with 70% needed in each section, and that's the only option for tow pilots. Pilots with a motor (self-propelled hang gliders) usually sit the Pilot (Power) paper. The BHPA's no-cost mock exams online show you the level.

Without Pilot, you can't fly cross-country under BHPA rules and its insurance won't cover you. The only exceptions are briefed corridor tasks at BHPA-sanctioned events, or one set up for you by an Instructor or Senior Coach.

Advanced Pilot (AP)

Every pilot must:

1. Gain broad experience in a wide range of conditions.
2. Log experience on a range of models (at least three for hang gliding).
3. Log 100 hours.
4. Fly at least 100km cross-country using thermal lift.
5. Pass the Advanced Pilot theory exam.
6. Gain experience in another environment (tow, hill, aerotow or power).
7. Attend a BHPA Club Coach course.
8. Show good airmanship and the right attitude.

On top of that, hang glider pilots must:

• Fly a defined cross-country of at least 75km, out and return or triangle, using thermal lift.
• Land accurately every time: 3 landings within 30m.

The BHPA also expects lots of experience in mountain and dynamic soaring. AP matches stage 5 of the FAI Safe Pro scheme (Safe Pro Delta is the hang gliding card). Beyond AP, the next goals are the FAI's Delta badges for distance, height gain and duration.

Already a paraglider pilot? You train on a hang glider from the start, but you don't re-sit Pilot or AP exams you've passed.

Source: Pilot Task Book (Pilot Stage), Pilot Exam Notes, Mock Pilot Rating Exams, Advanced Pilot Tasks, Pilot Rating Scheme, Who can fly cross-country?, BHPA Fees and Technical Manual (Amendment 24) (sections 3.1, 3.4.2 and 3.4.7), BHPA, checked October 2026.

Governing body: British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA). It sets the UK safety standards and training awards for hang gliding, so it's the official place to find out more.

Typical prices, checked October 2026. The club or coach sets and bills the price.

The club map lists some of the UK clubs for this sport. It is a starting point, so check with the club before you travel. To have a coach found for you, use the enquiry form.