Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Day four - learning to hang glide

“Flying a hang glider actually require some skill” It was so good to see Tracey discovering such a golden nugget of truth for herself. We have been laying foundations for three days – a lot of repetition and a bit of hard work but in the end so valuable and like today, so worth it. There is only one way to get the skill to fly a hang glider – practice. Something one can apply to everything in life but yet, with the art of flying it takes on an element of truth most often not encountered but trivial things. “The controls are so sensitive. If you don’t do the right thing she tells you your being an idiot!”

Touchy’

Today the real fun began. We had 28 short bunny hill flights as they say – each one sweeter than the other, each one closer to our goal of becoming a pilot of a hang glider. In the end I was far more tired than Tracey – this is what happens when you move into the flight realm as an instructor. To keep your students from harm you need run with them, being there every step of the way – not just for vocal support but also to catch a wing wire and keep the thing from flipping over and preventing expensive repairs to the glider and to the ego and confidence of students. Of course with the modern training gliders the flying speeds are right down and with a bit of a breeze it is not too hard to keep up. After the 28thrun down the dune let me tell you, it becomes an entirely different matter altogether! ;)

How high and how far will we go tomorrow? Stay tuned!

Tracey flying down the dune while I run(sprint!) along...

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