About Jonathan Jefferies

Age: 33
Born In: Albany, Oregon
Hometown: Draper, Utah
Favorite Flying Place: Skagway, Alaska
Years Paragliding: 9
Ratings: Master, Tandem Instructor
Countries Flown In: Mexico, Canada, USA, New Zealand, Israel & Austria
Number Of Flights: 3,000+

Personal Information Jonathan grew up in Draper watching hang gliders since he was a kid and became addicted to flying in 2001. Flying disrupted his GPA at BYU but he managed to graduate with a Degree in Botany and Japanese. Alaska was home for 7 summers and was a great place to pioneer new flying sites. After pursuing a career in Pharmacy and working as a technician for a number of years, he decided that he felt too much like a caged bird in a box counting pills and began instructing full time. Jonathan and his wife's first date was a hike up Lone Peak in Draper and a tandem paragliding flight back down to her car. After that introduction to the sport she took up flying as well. Their 2 children keep them busy in the meantime. Professional Information Jonathan learned to Paraglide at Cloud 9 Paragliding with Steve Mayer and Dexter Clearwater (Proflyght Paragliding, Hawaii). After spending a few summers paragliding in Southeast Alaska via helicopter drop-offs and long hikes, he apprenticed to become an instructor with Steve Mayer and received his instructor rating with Gabrielle Jebb at Torrey Pines Glider Port in California in 2003. After instructing at the point of the mountain full time for the next few years he received his Advanced and Tandem instructor ratings from Ken Hudonjorgensen. After working for the nation's largest paragliding school as the head instructor for a few years Jonathan decided to start Utah Paragliding in 2007 and began importing APCO and Skywalk paragliders. He has become a permanent fixture out at the hill and is commonly used as a human weather vane when people want to know what the wind at the Point is doing, they just call him. Feel free to check out what our past students have said. Why Train With Utah Paragliding? Utah Paragliding is committed to personal instruction, safety, and fun! We pride ourselves with thorough in-depth training and do not cut corners. There is no hurry or rush to kick students out of the nest. The certification course includes AS MANY LESSONS AS YOU NEED to feel confident and sure to fly on your own. Most students who train with Utah Paragliding finish their P-2 (Novice Pilot) training course with almost enough experience, flights and hours to qualify for the next rating of P-3 (Intermediate Pilot)! We go above and beyond the minimum requirements for P-2 certification.