| Tandem Hang Gliding |
Of all our adventures, Carol and I agree, without a doubt, hang gliding is the most exciting and most exhilarating of anything we've done. There you are, soaring quietly in the sky with nothing beneath you and earth but a metal bar on to which you are holding.
The Beginning
Some months before we were going on a vacation trip to the Carolinas, Carol spotted an ad in a paper advertising Tandem Hang Gliding from Lookout Mountain in Tennesee. This seemed like a perfect add-on to the white water rafting we were already planning to do. We made reservations and and when the time came, there we were at the "Lookout Mountain Flight Park and Training Center" jump-off point in Rising Fawn, Georgia. There were already several solo hang gliders in line waiting for their turn to run down the concrete ramp on the edge of the mountainside cliff to get airborne. It was like watching an airplane taking off from an aircraft carrier - the plane would momentarily drop out of view then come back climbing to the sky. Happily, we were informed that this is not the most advantageous way tandem hang gliders are launched. We were to drive down to the airfield where the solo hang gliders were eventually making their landings. From there our tandem glider would be towed up to a height of 2,500 feet by an ultra-light aircraft, then released. The novice rider and the professional pilot are harnessed next to each other in the sling underneath the glider. We lay down on a three-wheel sled and the glider is hooked up to the ultra-light with a long tow line.
The Takeoff
The aircraft starts moving down the grassy airstrip pulling the glider and we start rolling along with the cart. As we pick up speed the glider begins to lift and we become airborne, leaving the cart behind. It's a slow, steady climb to 2,500 feet until the tow line is released; there's a sudden drop and then we begin to soar.
The Flying
Here we are flying over the airfield. At this point I (Richard) am actually flying the glider, as only I have my hands on the steering bar. The pilot is pressing a shutter cable connected to a 35mm camera positioned on the outer edge of the glider to take these pictures. You can see the ultra-light plane on the grassy airstrip below us!
Now it's Carol's turn, and she also is flying the glider as the pilot is now taking her picture. Yes, Carol, you are flying! It's an exhilarating feeling to be quietly soaring in the air - just like a bird. A big part of the expertise is to know how to catch the updrafts so as to gain altitude to keep you aloft as long as possible. On Carol's flight, the pilot caught a big updraft and I watched them from the airfield soar higher and higher until they were actually higher than Lookout Mountain.
Yes, Carol, you are flying!
The Landing
The excitement isn't over yet! We circle the grass landing field, make one last turn, and then a long, shallow glide into an actual "belly" landing (protecting our bellies is the heavy leather material that the sling is made of). This may be the end of our most exciting adventure yet, but we look forward to doing this again!
The hang gliding center has a neat web site at....www.hanggliding.com
Comments welcomed. You may e-mail Richard and Carol by clicking here.
