Pilots who have been flying accident-free are encouraged to apply for the Safe Pilot Award in recognition of this accomplishment. The applying pilot certifies the number of consecutive safe flights he or she has flown, has three witnesses sign to confirm, and sends to their Regional Director to certify.
The levels of the USHPA Safe Pilot Award, available to both hang glider and paraglider pilots, are as follows:
- Bronze Award: 100 consecutive safe flights
- Silver Award: 300 consecutive safe flights
- Gold Award: 500 consecutive safe flights
- 1st Diamond: 1,000 consecutive safe flights
- 2nd Diamond: 2,000 consecutive safe flights
- 3rd Diamond: 3,000 consecutive safe flights
- 4th Diamond: 4,000 consecutive safe flights
- 5th Diamond: 5,000 consecutive safe flights
A safe flight is a flight which includes a launch (beginning from a full stop) and a landing (ending in a complete arrest of forward motion) which does not result in any injury to the pilot which requires (or would normally require or would clearly indicate the need for) treatment by a licensed medical professional. Only logged flights occurring on or after August 1, 1988, where the log entry contains the date, location, and duration of the flight, may be counted towards the award. Any flight involving injury as described above, whether or not it is logged, terminates a string of consecutive safe flights, and re-starts the count of consecutive safe flights at zero.
Apply using the Safe Pilot Award form .