Tim Brown
(President)

Tim has been a dedicated paraglider pilot since learning to paraglide here in Queenstown in 1992. Tim is a retired airline pilot whose initial flying was with the Australian Airforce and then 27 years in Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. Most of his paragliding has been done in Hong Kong, Manilla (Aust) and here in Queenstown, but also Greece, France and Switzerland. He enjoys competition and cross-country flying. Tim is currently on the NZHGPA’s Paragliding Competition Committee and is ranked 4th on the New Zealand national ladder. Tim lives in Dalefield and is married to Christine.

Paula Race
(Secretary)

Paula is a relative newbie to the world of paragliding. With a background in mountain biking, hiking and snowboarding, her partner easily convinced her that paragliding was the next skill required to make the most of adventures in NZ.

Originally from the UK, Paula had a 7 year stint in Australia until she was drawn to NZ by the mountains and has now settled in Central Otago. Another weekend warrior that spends more time dreaming of flying than actually being in the air.

Blake Round
(Paragliding Safety Officer)

Blake has been paragliding since 2008, based in Queenstown and committed to contributing to the sport in the area. Blake worked as a full time PG instructor for 5 years and has since worked as a commercial tandem pilot, In his spare time he enjoys flying across many disciplines including Acro, XC, Speed Flying and Speed riding.

Currently Blake is putting his effort into setting up a paraglider tow operation to support progression training for pilots.

Pete Helliwell
(Hang Gliding Safety Officer)

Daniel Diaz Rizo
(IT / Web Officer)

Daniel has been flying since 2016, most of it around NZ, France and Mexico. He enjoys climbing rocks, mountains, volcanoes and lately…. clouds. His love for flying started as a hike & fly in NZ and now he’s working as a PG instructor with Paraventures.

Craig Smith
(General committee)

Craig {Wonky} grew up in Queenstown and learnt to fly here in 2011. As he tours a lot with his work, he takes his wings with him and enjoys exploring all the other fantastic sites NZ has to offer, however, in his opinion, nothing beats flying in around the 45th Parallel :0) “It truly is magic. By being a part of the committee, I hope to be able to help in some way, to maintain what other members have done before and perhaps to add to our club. So we can continue to fly here and allow visitors to come and enjoy what we have on our very doorstep!”

Louis Tapper
(General committee)

Been flying over 8 years now and 3 time NZ Champion and NZ record holder. Louis is passionate about weather forecasting, video editing, creating a stronger community, and helping new pilots into the paragliding scene. He is now in his fifth year of flying (2017) and can often be seen chasing little fluffy clouds around the South Island or lurking around Kai or the Flight Park. An on-the-ground supporter of a now famous x-alps pilot, if you buy Louis a beer, he will be happy to share what he’s learned so far.

When it’s not flyable, Louis can be found kayaking on The Hawea Wave, running, snow kiting or doing videography. For work, Louis spends 6 months of the year working in IT Security so he can afford to paraglide as much as possible in the summer months. In a previous life, he has been a kite surfer of great distances in search of Brazilians.

Benjamin Kellett
(General committee)

Ben loves paragliding… as much as possible. Specifically acro and XC

Nathan ‘Pumbaa’ Hyslop
(General committee)

Pumbaa started Paragliding in 2015 and enjoys cruising around on nice days generally doing laps at Coronet Peak. He grew up in South Otago and holidayed in Wanaka in his younger days then moved to Queenstown in 1994. Outside of paragliding Pumbaa is a Travel Director for tour groups around New Zealand and enjoys skiing, Mountain biking and traveling.

Billy Waller
(Sites Officer)

Vacant
(Airspace Officer)