They are super-nice and are very willing to accept new people into their community of pilots, even if only for a weekend. I came as a beginner and got very good instruction - they were always supportive - even if the flight wasn't the best. Hang-gliding in general can be a bit finicky because of how strongly it depends on winds and weather conditions, so it can be hard to predict and schedule the best flight times for beginners. But - when you are able to get on the hill (and in the air!), it is a wonderful experience! read more

Greg Black is a very mean instructor. He berates and yells at everyone who comes through his business; customers and staff. He verbally abused me countless times just because I asked for help putting my glider together. On top of that every time you make a mistake while training he continues to put you down in front of the other students. Greg has two training hills available. The first one is very small you won't learn much from it except during the early stages of training. He has a second bigger one but will refuse to let you train on it except for one time before your mountain flight because he's too cheap to take the time you bring you out there for regular traning. Because of this you can only learn so much from the small hill and it delays your training significantly. I highly recommend not going to this school because of the verbal abuse and his training methods. If you want a good school to go to try Randall Airport in MIddletown NY. They have scooter towing where you will get a significant more amount of air time on your training flights, you will learn much faster and enjoy it more. read more

Came here with a meetup group and a Zozi deal for an all day introductory class into single hang gliding for 90 bucks. It has a nice open field and small hills perfect for training. While Greg, the primary instructor was very knowledgeable - not a lot of us liked his yelling and condescending/ sarcastic attitude. It's apparent he's probably the owner or something and have done it for too long. The other guys were great though - most particularly the new guy Kit hailing from Texas. Very sincere and patient. The facilities are ok but I suppose the gear could use a bit more washing. Not gonna lie, I sweat like a pig. I loved the dogs running around in the field - but it's not particularly fun when you mistep into poop. 4 stars nonetheless! read more

My girlfriend and I had an excellent full day at Mountain Wings, under the guidance of Greg and Sharon. We had read the yelp reviews before going up there, and were prepared for the "North Korean training camp" that was described in some of the reviews. It was nothing at all like a North Korean training camp. Although the instructors lost patience at times, and yelled often at the beginning, it was clear that this was more a sign of their determination to get us to learn (I am a High School classroom teacher myself, and know the difference very well). As I gradually made improvements, the instructors gave a lot more encouragement and positive reinforcement. The other six students had only signed up for a half day lesson. My girlfriend and I paid for a full day, and spent several hours working with Sharon on our own. Sharon was an incredible instructor. The lesson was supposed to end at 4:30, but she stayed with us well beyond that...until past 7pm, just as the sun was setting. She was patient, encouraging, friendly, and gave us hours of guidance. She told us all about the sport, showed us videos during a break we took, and enthusiastically answered dozens of questions we had about hang gliding. This experience was entirely due to a $90 deal we got through google offers (the same Zozi deal), which turned out to be one of the best deals I have ever bought. Mountain Wings should start offering tandem hang gliding within the next year, and I am dying to go back there, experience a real mountain jump, and learn more about the sport. read more

The activity of hang gliding can be a lot of fun and very exciting. Unfortunately, when the instructor/owner (Greg) is a total jerk and a bad teacher, it pretty much takes all the fun out of it. The assistant instructor, Kit, was a terrific guy and I probably would have had a much better experience had I taken the lesson with him. If you're interested in learning hang gliding, I would highly encourage it but I would also suggest going else where. read more

As other reviewers have noted Greg can come off as tough on students. Stanford researcher Nir Eyal has shown that it's important to focus on mistakes and mental toughness when learning a technical skill or adventure sport: http://www.nirandfar.com/2012/06/before-changing-behavior-know-your-type.html Within the USHPA, Greg is considered one of the best instructors in the country and produces excellent pilots. In order for Greg to work at that level, he DOES need to focus on mistakes and correcting them to prevent students from developing bad habits. Sometimes that involves negative reinforcement. Greg's two other teachers, Dave and Sharron Hopkins, are also amazing. Dave has been teaching for 25 years and has set the Northeast record for distance flying- flying all the way from Ellenville to Boston. He is incredibly generous in sharing his flying experiences and discussing launch technique. Dave is very patient with beginner pilots and is an excellent instructor to work with on the first day. For first day pilots: -80% chance you will get in the air your first day- probably a few feet off the ground on the training hill; 60% chance you'll get multiple flights. Listen to Dave, Sharron, and Greg and try to relax and keep a lose grip on the glider. -You'll know if you want to spend thousands of dollars doing this after your first day or not. For pilots who thinking about the full package: -Get ready to carry a glider up the hill hundreds of times. Sometimes in warm, humid weather. -There will be some yelling. Sometimes. You need to focus on your mistakes now to avoid making them in the future. -Ellenville's weather doesn't always cooperate with you. Sometimes the wind is too strong, sometimes there is rain, sometimes the wind is coming in the wrong direction. Hang gliding teaches you patience. -It's more fun than you can imagine. -I've never seen someone get more than a bruise or two on the training hill. Just downtubes broken. Because of better gliders and training, hang gliding is a much safer sport today than it was 30 years ago. -It's totally worth the time, effort, and money. Totally. read more

Not too surprised to find all the negative reviews. All i did was call to get some info and the owner was rude and arrogant. I will avoid even attempt at going to this place. read more

I can take constructive criticism but I didn't even start a lesson when I was rubbed completely the wrong way. Greg Black was a bit of a douche on the phone but I showed up to the lesson anyway. I should have backed out on the phone but I give people second and third chances all the time. Anyways, before I even met his egoness I was rubbed wrong by a female senior instructor. Forgot her name but she yelled at me for driving over their little bridge too fast. She was telling me all the crap that is wrong with the bridge and was all pissed because everyone drives over it too fast. I kinda yelled back at her that I did not FLY over the bridge and there is no sign posted anyways. I went on the say how much easier it is to put up a sign then to yell at everyone who goes over the f'd up bridge and that maybe they should think about fixing as well. I got the impression that she unconsciously liked that she had something to start yelling at people about at the get go. That would explain the absence of a sign. BTW, this happened over a year ago so maybe there is a sign now, I don't know. Anyways, you can see I was already not happy when I walked into the mold infested hangar they call home. Greg proceeds to sell me on the sport by starting with how dangerous paragliding is because I expressed interest in it. Fine, I don't care about that even though I've done my research and know he's full of shit. Both sports have their dangers, I know. What I do care more about is his general confrontational and condescending attitude. He strikes me as the type of person who has to have the last word and be right about everything. I was the only one who showed up that morning for a beginners lesson so he was spending plenty of time with me and putting on the hard sell. I just didn't like him as a person and knew I was going to end up in a fight with him eventually so I told him I was leaving. I respected myself enough to not put up with someone I really didn't like. Later that day I was visiting a friend in Kerhonkson who knew Greg and said he is a total dick and that I made the right choice by leaving. Since then I started taking paragliding lessons on Long Island and I'm loving it. If you really want to take hang gliding lessons there is a guy who is the regional director for the USHPA and has his training right there at the same field as MW. His name is Paul Voight and his school is called Fly High. They use a tow system and people say nice things about him. I haven't gone there yet but I am planning on it in the future. I know I'll never go back to mountain wings. Here is the link. -- flyhighhg dot com Hope this helps. read more

This was one of the best experiences I've had in my life... Hands down. My buddy and I grabbed a Zipcar for the day and got out of the city. We had a great time. The instructors are really cool, the vibe is really chill although the focus is still safety. I was in a group of 4 so I had tons of opportunities to take a stab and launching off of their training hill. Defiantly hooked. Definitely coming back with more friends. Robert is an experienced teacher and really cool. You'll feel really encouraged by the end of the day. read more

Surprised to see all the negative reviews. I had an awesome time at my introductory lesson at Mountain Wings and am considering signing up for more of them (did anyone else know that Metro North goes all the way out to Port Jervis -- 20 miles away?). A few things to know before you take your first lesson here: you won't be getting (solo) airtime on your first day, so ignore the LivingSocial ad that shows the aerial view of the Catskills (you can do a tandem flight though, which would probably be mad fun). And it's a lesson, not a tour, so you need to have a good attitude, take things seriously, and be ready to accept and internalize constructive criticism (otherwise you will be running down hills all day). That's what you're paying for, it's not like the instructors do anyone a favor by patting them on the back all day. And you shouldn't be in the air if you don't have the two fundamentals -- taking off and landing -- down pat (unless you want to crash and die). And it's a fun workout. Didn't even realize how many times I ended up running up and down the hills (I won't pretend I was good at getting off the ground) but throughout the day I felt like a kid, which says a lot, given my haggard lifestyle. Moreover, they're extremely accomodating for people who are interested in taking lessons. With permission, you can set up camp nearby and just hike over to the lesson the next morning. Could be an affordable way to get into an adventure sport (still waiting on that bonus to come through so I can take up alpine mountaineering, you know). If you live in the area, they offer unlimited lessons for a full year for just under two thou. Unlimited?! read more

Got a great lesson a while back. It was awesome. By no means am I a hang gliding pilot, but maybe someday with more lessons. Everyone says this is the best training hill in the North-East region. I'll update this review when I get more lessons. read more

My boyfriend and I took a full day class here this weekend and I'll tell ya, we got a great deal! We used a google offer for $90 per person and started at around 8:30 or 9am and didn't leave the place until a little after 7pm! This was thanks to Sharon who stayed late with us even though we were the only students :-) When we first got there I was skeptical that this was going to be any fun, seeing as how the day would mainly consist of running up and down a hill with a large heavy contraption on your shoulders. But I have to admit, it WAS a lot of fun! And a great workout too! At one point in the afternoon we waited out some bad wind inside the office/garage and hung out with Sharon, the owner's girlfriend and her dog for a bit and watched hang gliding videos and discussed the sport and all the things you can do with it. My impression of hang gliding very different prior to coming here and now I think it is something I would actually think of taking up, if I had the funds. They staff said they will probably be offering tandem hang glides from a higher altitude next year, maybe in the Spring and I'd definitely be down for that! I supposed the reviews might be accurate when it comes to Greg...not sure why he is like that. But I didn't work with him for too long so I can't say much. But I thought Sharon was awesome! And since we had her all afternoon for just the two of us we really got to see what a great teacher she is. She obviously loves what she does since she stayed with us so late, doing one run after the other. She really wanted us to succeed as well as enjoy ourselves. I'd definitely recommend this place to others. read more

This place is AMAZING! I tried hang-glider for the first time at Mountain Wings and the instructors couldn't make me feel more at ease, safe and relaxed. Robert was leading the introduction class and his energy, patience and charisma made everyone have a great time learning how to fly. I highly recommend it. read more

Moutain Wings is the place to learn how to Hang glide in the NE. Greg Black is a fantastic instructor and has created a unique enviroment to allow students to gain invaluable experience in a safe and supportive environment. He is passionate about teaching hang gliding to new students. He is a life long pilot who find joy in teaching newbies the art of hang gliding. What more can you ask. Safety is of upmost importance. In my seven years of hang gliding I have never seen one of Greg's students get hurt. That says it all. Hang gliding is an amazing activity. It is one of the few that exceeds your expectations. read more

Like the other reviews on here I have to agree that Greg is a terrible teacher. There were two other instructors there today and even they were annoyed with him. If you want lessons I would recommend requesting "not Greg." Or if you need to be specific Ray and Dave were both fantastic. read more

First of all i had a great time for my lesson. Yes the instructor did yell but you wear a full face helmet and for the first flights on the bunny hill your mind goes blank when the glider picks you up so they have to yell. First we started off in a simulator and they explained everything to do before we went to the hill. Then we took a couple runs on flat ground where they again explained what to do. so if you didnt know what to do then you werent listening. i understood everything. and everyone in my class had a great time and understood everything. a couple people decided to extend the lesson for the full day which is extra but worth it. Also the instructors told me what i did good and what i did bad after every flight. The instructor would give me a high five if i did good then explain what i did wrong. If they dont tell you what you do wrong how do you know how to fix it? As far as the bug spray the bugs were not swarming, there were some nats and how about using your head and bring your own? they dont have to supply it. Maybe you didnt do your job and read the website or ad. so you expected things they didnt offer? They have a video of the lesson on thier website so you know what to expect. They accept credit cards everyday from me and ive never had a problem or heard the boss swear. And being the first time in a hangglider if you dont listen to what they tell you or do things you arent supposed to i imagine you could get hurt pretty bad. so i can understand why they say that. When i was there they told me a couple times that whenever i needed a break to let them know and i couldnt ask for a better instructor. its a workout but for the first day learning hang gliding i actually flew off the ground alot by myself and the lesson was supposed to end at 12:30 but they stayed out on the hill till 1:30 because i was having a good time and they never asked me for any extra money. They dont have tandems right now they said they are going to maybe be doing them in the spring. some ads show a tandem but that is wrong. I am definately going back for more lessons and i would recommend them for anyone interested in hanggliding. but read the website so you know what it includes as it is a workout the first day. On thier website under lessons is a video of the first day and it was exactly like mine. read more

I went for 5 months, signed up for the $2000 package of unlimited lessons. The instructor was abusive and like a lot of the other reviewers, yelled at the students, was inconsistent about what instructor we trained with, would not let another instructor fix a glider that needed repair before students were flying it, would not refund any package money since the scam is get the student to buy the package, then mistreat them as they are in an iron clad contract and keep bringing in new people. I was so dedicated to getting my rating but after 4 months realized the owner was deliberately holding others back and may have caused some accidents by not having the gliders repaired. Also, my transmission went on my car and I hope he had nothing to do with it but he was that type of personality that it made me wonder . . . all of the students, like myself, who had been there a reasonable amount of time were suffering greatly and lost a lot of hard-earned money. Very sad and very dangerous. read more

The emphasis at Mountain Wings is on safety at every stage of training. The instructors not only are constantly looking out for their students' safety but they build into the students themselves a mindset of watchfulness and good judgment that allows us to fly safely when we become independent pilots. The facilities at Mountain Wings are very conducive to all weather learning and fun. There is a flight simulator, a shop, AN INDOOR BATHROOM !!!, and a nice lounge/video viewing area. I like that they help students analyze videos of runs on the training hill and mountain flights to help us understand what we're doing wrong/right or could be doing better. And the people who hang out there are the best - there is a level of mutual support that has made it the place I most enjoy being, even on non-fliable days! I would like to give it 5 stars but somehow that makes Yelp filter my review. So here are my own 5 stars: ***** ! read more

mountain wings is awesome, excellent training hill and excellent instructors.