SkyMax: To Fly, Or Not To Fly...

Some people have dreams about flying. They know they always wanted to fly, and when they discover hang gliding everything aligns perfectly.

I am not one of those people.

Sure, I played with toy airplanes, and even built and flown RC planes. I crashed and destroyed them all. I had no doubts that I would crash an aircraft if I to pilot it. Thus, no dreams about flying. Why am I in hang gliding then? There is no a simple answer to that question :-)

...

I was editing a few videos for my martial arts teacher, Randy Brown (randybrownmantisboxing.com). He is also a very experienced hang glider pilot. He is usually a rather reserved person but in his hang gliding videos he was all smiles and happiness. It got me really curious. And on his advice I went to try aerotowing with Rhett Radford at hangglidenewengland.com .

Hang Glide New England operates out of Tanner-Hiller airport in New Braintree, Massachusetts. It is a nice quiet area just a few miles from Quabbin reservoir.

Rhett. Ready to tow.

My first hang gliding flight/lesson wasn't all that exciting. I was too busy digesting all the information and couldn't fully enjoy flying experience. However, I resolved my main concern about being afraid of heights - no such thing in hang gliding as you are hanging comfortably and not standing on a ledge.

My hang gliding instructor, Louie DiValentin, was great and explained every step along the way. Our takeoff was smooth and when we released from the tug, Louie let me to control the glider for a bit. The flight down was rather short (~10 minutes) to experience much of controls or enjoy the view, and after Louie started doing wingovers I started getting airsick.

We landed smoothly and I asked myself if flying was for me. I couldn't really answer that question. The challenge was definitely there and to master that skill required more than just one short flight. I decided to get it all the way to my first solo flight and then decide. Boring, I know, I had no dreams of flying, remember? But I accepted the challenge.

....

Filling out the paperwork. I am now officially a hang gliding student .