TESTIMONIALS
“I’m a NASA instructor pilot and I’ve been paragliding for 26 years. I met Jordan yesterday to work on my P3 rating.
(lost long ago when rating standards changed)
I’ve known many paragliding instructors over the years and Jordan is easily the best of the lot. He’s a true professional with a great attitude, and a really nice guy. I had a wonderful day and learned a lot.
One of Jordan’s superior instructional techniques I’d like to emulate is his ability to explain complex aerodynamic concepts in a way that’s easy to comprehend and apply to this wonderful sport.
I’m 56 years old, by the way—probably a good median age to start if you’re wondering."
JAMES / P3 PILOT / SoCal
"The best flight school you can ever ask for. Great amount of resources provided with this course that you can use for becoming a great pilot. The gear used for teaching are the top notch brands that are out there. When you buy your own gear from this school you get the best that is available the market.
Jordan is a very knowledgeable person and creates the best stepping stone for you to achieve your goals and more importantly to fly safe.
You also get option of enjoying tandem rides that are really fun.
I definitely recommend this school."
BO / GRADUATE / P3 PILOT
Awesome Reviews!!!
Testimonials like these let me know I'm on the right track. Our school is obsessed with quality instruction and community building!
Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
Jordan is a great pilot, an amazing teacher and a wonderful human being. Before coming to Crestline, my partner and I had already taken some lessons with a few other top instructors in the US: I mention this mainly to say that I have good comparison references when I write this review.
Needless to say that Jordan is an extremely knowledgeable and skilled pilot at the very top of the industry who will keep you safe and will pass on to you an invaluable wealth of knowledge. But while you can find very fine pilots and experienced instructors also elsewhere, there are some additional things that are rare to find and that Jordan simply excels at.
First of all great communication: Jordan is very clear, kind and proactive in his approach; he will come to you and give you feedback and advice, he will listen to your doubts and questions and give you simple and clear cues to make even the hardest concepts "click" in your head.
Another wonderful thing about Jordan is that he will make you feel excited about flying, kiting, practicing, progressing, learning and in general living the sport: this is so important to keep you positively engaged in your paragliding journey even when you experience setbacks or hardships, and it will make you genuinely happy to come to the training hill and give your best every time.
In addition to that, Jordan's theory lessons are very structured and organized, with a thoroughly thought progression in mind and delivered with the highest quality (and you can attend them on zoom from anywhere even after your time in Crestline is over): you will feel that you are following a well planned educational path rather than accumulating random tips and tricks.
Furthermore, Jordan actually managed to create a whole community of students and alumni who are incredibly positive, warm and welcoming to newcomers. You know that a teacher is good when the students have a sense of pride and ownership over the school: when we joined the FB group we were welcomed by the other students and pilots with "welcome to OUR school", not "welcome to Jordan's school". This is something very rare and precious that you will not easily find around. By coming here you will become part of a whole community whose members learn together and support each other becoming better and safer pilots every day.
And finally, the Crestline/San Bernardino mountain is a prime location to fly: there are 300 fliable days per year, there are at least 5 different spots on the mountain with different levels of difficulty accessible to new pilots, so that you can progressively and safely improve your skills. And Jordan also organizes field trips to many other sites nearby: this will help you being very consistent in your learning journey.
I can't recommend "fly with Jordan" enough: if you are thinking about a place to learn, improve or simply having wonderful flights, this is the place you are looking for.
Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
Jordan is an amazing and attentive teacher!! In addition to the great and thorough lessons at the airpark, Jordan keeps students engaged during the week with online classes and messaging about current weather conditions and to post photos and videos of flights and student achievements. With his effective and comprehensive teaching approach and enthusiasm for the sport, Jordan has created a fun environment in which to learn and practice and a wonderful community of students and pilots who love to fly!! Highly recommended!!
Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
Fly With Jordan is an all around 5 Star Paragliding School. (YOU WILL NOT BE DISSAPOINTED)
DISCLAIMER: I only write reviews if what I'm reviewing is really great or really terrible and let me tell you THIS SCHOOL IS AWESOME!
I was training with an instructor overseas who was a very good instructor, but my god when I started training with Jordan I found out what a great instructor is like. I'm no stranger to this type of sports. I'm a professional scuba diver and licensed skydiver, I've worked with all kinds of great and bad instructors and Jordan is definitely one of the great ones.
What makes him an amazing instructor is the wealth of knowledge and experience he has in the sport, topped with his love for teaching and getting other people to experience flight and develop that passion he has for it. In his classes he goes above and beyond by creating Video, Audio, and Presentations to get the point across; which is great for me because I'm a visual learner!
What I also like about (Fly With Jordan) is the way the classes are conducted and that it's self paced. Safety and safe practices are always in mind and monitored. You also get a lot of VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY with UNLIMITED CLASSES up to P4!
At Fly With Jordan I was introduced to a new culture a new community with like minded people/ friends who share the same passion as me and I couldn't be more grateful 🙏🏼
I hope this review helps you make an informed decision. If you have any questions regarding this review feel free to message me on Instagram @IZombieMan
Positive: Communication, Professionalism, Quality, Value
My dad Brian and his friend Richard have been taking lessons with Jordan for a couple of months now and have been absolutely amazed at how professional he is and how thorough he is with explaining safety measures. They have loved every second of every experience they have had with him. He is a phenomenal instructor that will help you grow and succeed in this sport. He is taking my father on a tandem flight that is the next level up so that he knows what to expect and how to properly handle the situation with being so high up in the air. The best thing about him as an instructor is that he will never put your safety in jeopardy. He will always tell them if it’s not safe to fly that day whether the wind is a tad off or the clouds are rolling in. He has made both of their flying dreams come true.
Visiting from Oregon as a new pilot and learned so much from Jordan as he worked with me on kiting and guided me through my entire flight from Regional. We are extending our trip and coming back to experience more of the great community and to learn more from Jordan! Thank you for loving what you do- it’s contagious!!!
Testimonials!
Cory's 1st Thermal
So I’ve had a amazing day flying today and was encouraged to share some of the take-aways. I caught my first good thermal core thanks to Jordan’s coaching me in. It brought me from about 450 back up and above regionals to about 1250. A pretty fast elevator ride up too, 2.5m/s. So, 1 story ever 1-2 seconds. Some of the things I learned after taking that ride: I had to bank hard into the turn. A lot more than I expected to. I do not know the angle, but it felt like between 45 - 75 degrees, Maybe a little farther out than those spinning chair swing rides at amusement parks and I was still climbing. So having the wing banked so much and still climbing is one take away. Another take-away, was how the g-forces and added body weight helped maintain maneuverability. It is like if you’ve been surfing, skiing or snowboarding, when your leaned onto an edge you’re able to carve into the snow or water better and control the turns or have “more bite” in the turns. Having the wing banked feels very much the same, as if there is more bite into the air.
I got to say my bump tolerance and trust in the glider went up 10 fold today. I still got “air legs” . I didn’t catch the big lift on the flight after but could tell I was a different pilot already. Before I was spooked by lift / and turbulence anxious to get through it and find smoother air. Now I was steering with body weight shifts more, reacting quicker to turbulence / lift and leaning into to it hoping for some bump ups. I can’t wait to get back up there. Thanks again, Jordan!
Eli Mansour
Hi Jordan. Just saw Monday’s lesson. I have to say that was the best explanation of weather I have ever seen - and I’ve had my FAA commercial license for over 20 years! You really have some great teaching talent. The turns session was also awesome and put it all together for me. Really enjoying your teaching!! See you this weekend!!
Navi
Taking the liberty of sharing my experience from yesterday, my longest flight on record to date, 52 minutes - not a lot by many standards but personal best, and this was only possible cause of your guidance over radio. I am confident to report i was in a thermal and gained elevation for first time being in it, small steps but enjoying every-bit of learning new skill sets. Check out a brief but kick ass elevation gain above regionals
Mark Mancewicz
Wow, had my first ‘coring’ experience yesterday courtesy of Jordan’s radio guidance. Definitely a different experience, a little hectic in terms of bumpiness, etc. I wasn’t quite sure when I entered lift, but Jordan could see it from AJX. He guided me to turn into it, with lots of weight shift… I crossed my outer leg over the inner one, which really seems to help amplify the effect of leaning. It took a couple attempts to stay in the core.
Once I got in it, I just stayed turning, with my eyes largely focused on my inner wingtip, but also keeping an eye on other pilots. It felt like I was turning sharper than I ever had before (I felt more g-force), like I was banked too far and might be giving up too much lift (or even progress to a spiral), but I looked up at the canopy compared to horizon, and it seemed to be at reasonable angle.
From my point of view, it appeared to be pretty consistent circles, though there was actually drift due to the SSW wind, making a loopy path which is pretty clear in the track recording. The core itself was likely drifting with the wind… After a while, I realized I was getting behind the ridge, and it was getting more crowded, so I bailed out of the lift to head back to the front of the ridge.
At one point, there was another glider directly above me, and not being sure how fast I might go up, even though I had the ‘right-of-way’ as the lower glider, I wasn’t sure that other pilot would know/respect that. This combined with having had enough of the bumpiness/hecticness, decided to leave the area and head to 750, with the aim of getting in that lift with some altitude. It felt pretty cool to get my first thermal core lift! Certainly my longest flight to date…
Thanks Jordan!
David Schuler
I took my first (real) flight this weekend, and other than the over excitement and anticipation the day (and night before) my first real launch I was overcome with contentment. As soon as Jordan gave me the go ahead to put my glider into the air, I felt completely confident and was able to focus on the experience and listen to what my glider was telling me about the wind. As Jordan ensured me during my ground school, when he told me it was time, it would be. The training I received from Jordan on the ground, kiting, and from the training hill had completely prepared me to fly down 2300 feet from Marshal to Andy Jackson. The conditions were perfect as everyone that I spoke with at that site agreed is that way almost every day. Wanting a paraglider instructor that works with my self-taught attitude and at the same making sure I don’t get myself into any trouble, Jordan is perfect!
He is constantly quizzing me to make sure understand topics and building my skills and knowledge as we go. He is always happy to stop and listen to my questions and answers them in detail to make sure I know and understand. Several of the reasons I really appreciate Jordan as an instructor are: Non pushy personality (if you’re going to fly, you will. if you’re going to by gear, you will, if you want him as you instructor and he has availability,..) In depth knowledge of weather (very important to me to take as much guesswork out paragliding and make it safe so I can go home to my family) His expertise in tandem helped me to get some air time before committing to training and get an idea about what to expect as far as hanging in the wind and making my first turns.
The prices he gives for new gear (and training) make it easy to purchase and I haven’t seen lower prices anywhere. You can tell he is not in it for the money and just very passionate about the sport. I would always encourage others to meet several instructors and feel them out for themselves. I considered four+ other training sites (I drive from San Diego) and five+ other instructors before going with Jordan. Also, I really like the fact I am meeting and flying with his other students and learning from them. He makes sure you are involved in discussions with other students. I could go on and on about how great it is to have Jordan as an instructor, but if you’re interested, you just need to see for yourself.. Thanks Jordan! Keep up the good work of making this sport what it should be!
- Dave