Jesse Dhue
(President)

Jesse Dhue discovered his passion for paragliding in 2020 and is now based in Wanaka. He loves soaring over Otago’s stunning landscapes, especially enjoying cross-country flights with friends.

Vacant
(Secretary)

Join Our Team as a Secretary!

Are you organized and passionate about flying? We’re looking for a dedicated Secretary to join our paragliding club!

If you’re ready to help us soar, apply today!

Bradley Franks
(Paragliding Safety Officer)

I discovered free flight during a holiday in Colombia, where I took my first steps as a paraglider ten years ago. Since then, I’ve developed a passion for the sport, flying the skies around the world. Mountain cross-country flying has captured my greatest interest but I’m also enthusiastic about training acrobatic maneuvers. You’ll often find me tagging peaks in the Shotover, soaring over the Gondola in Queenstown or practicing acro at Coronet. My focus as Safety Officer is to draw on the critical thinking skills I’ve developed during my career in the oil and gas industry to help pilots improve their decision-making skills and glider control, ensuring greater safety and confidence both on launch and in flight.

Pete Helliwell
(Hang Gliding Safety Officer)

I’m Pete, originally from the UK but have been lucky enough to call New Zealand home for over ten years now. I fly hang gliders and paragliders both recreationally and commercially. You can normally find me flying tandems at the skyline gondola in Queenstown or flying solo at coronet peak. My favorite flying site in New Zealand is Murchison where I like to go every year. In the near future I would like to fly more cross country with my hang glider and also work towards getting some powered ratings for my wings.

Vacant
(Treasurer)

Join Our Team as a Treasurer!

Are you detail-oriented and passionate about flying? We’re looking for a dedicated Treasurer to join our paragliding club!

If you’re ready to help us soar, apply today!

Daniel Diaz Rizo
(IT / Web Officer)

Daniel has been flying since 2016, primarily around NZ, Europe, and Mexico. He enjoys climbing rocks, mountains, and volcanoes—and lately, clouds! You can often find him at Coronet Peak doing tandem flights or hike-and-fly adventures in the Southern Alps.

Benjamin Kellett
(Airspace Officer)

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

Vicki Zadrozny
(Events Manager)

I’ve been on the committee as Events Manager for some time and I’ve been flying paragliders for 14 years. I learnt with Lisa at Xtreme Air from Coronet Peak. She was a proper legend and in my eyes of the best instructors ever…she instilled confidence, safety and above all a fun and positive attitude, which set the scene for my approach to flying. I’ve dabbled in Acro and I used to drive the safety boat for Craig Taylor’s SIV courses, another legend who I learnt volumes of solid skills from…I love a good hike and fly, Vol Biv adventures and challenging XC lines…more recently though, Speedflying, fast is fun, all served best with a dose of awesome mates I’ve flown tandems for about 8 years and just fizz when I get to see that light shine out in people who are having the best time ever. It reminds of the way it feels for the 1st time, the excitement and fear. The blissful fun. I reckon having fun and sharing it with friends is the single biggest reason we all love to fly. To share the stoke, talk about our flights and experiences is part of our core and it’s how we all grow, we are family. We find strength and support in our togetherness!…That’s why we created Magic Land, it’s all about togetherness, a space where all our sky friends and adventure buddies can congregate, meet new people and share the love.

Tim Brown
(General committee)

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, Australia and here in Queenstown, but also Greece, France and Switzerland. He enjoys competition and cross-country flying.

Louis Tapper
(General committee)

Louis has been flying for over 10 years now, at least 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 can often be seen chasing little fluffy clouds around the South Island or lurking around Kai or the Flight Park, 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.

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!”

Sam Lees
(General Committee)

Sam’s been flying for 6+ years now after learning here in Queenstown. While Coronet is his local spot for a flight after work or during lunch, he’s been on flying trips through the USA and Mexico. If you see him on the hill or in the landing come say hello as he’s always keen for a yarn or to lend a hand.

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.