#HANG GLIDER FREE#

“To me, I can’t imagine a better way to make a living than introducing people to the crazy, joyous world of free-flight.” “It was one of those chase-the-dream scenarios,” says Pearson, a certified United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding instructor. He quit his job as an electronics technician in 2010 to found a flight school in Lenoir, N.C., with his wife and son. Pearson dove into the sport soon thereafter-and spent as much of the next 40 years as possible launching gliders off mountains and cliffs in North Carolina and the greater U.S. “I said, ‘Now that’s something I’d like to try.'” “It was the wildest thing I’d ever seen,” says Pearson, now 58. Photo courtesy of Thermal Valley Hang Gliding Thermal Valley Hang Gliding SchoolĬraig Pearson discovered hang-gliding as a high school freshman when he spotted pioneers leaping off Hibriten Mountain and coasting thermal winds to mile-plus altitudes. Tandem experiences start at $199 Landing in North Carolina. Looking to up the adrenaline factor? Guynn’s aerial acrobatics package brings stunts like barrel rolls, corkscrews, and loop-de-loops. The peninsula is just 10 miles wide on average, so fliers can enjoy simultaneous views of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The “Mile High” experience carries patrons to altitudes above 5,000 feet. Today the school offers a variety of tandem tours, certification classes, and towing services for established pilots. Guynn relocated in 2013 and launched Virginia Hang Gliding on a 25-acre property near Onancock.

#HANG GLIDER FREE#

The area is sparsely populated, free of major airports, and features world-class aerial sights. Guynn grew up near the Eastern Shore of Virginia and knew the peninsula was the perfect location for a free-flight school.

That means learners get personalized instruction and incredible views. Flight training is streamlined using a small aircraft to tow students to higher altitudes and tutor them in a tandem setting. Guynn starts by teaching the basics on the ground. Return climbs-especially up sand dunes-are often physically intensive and time-consuming. Flight time averages less than 10 seconds. “Most places have beginner and intermediate learners launching off small hills or dunes,” says Guynn. Years of teaching at top learning centers in Florida, Colorado, and on the Outer Banks of North Carolina inspired Guynn, a certified master pilot, to found his own hang-gliding school.

The Virginia Hang Gliding Flight Schoolĭon “Freeman Sky Coyote” Guynn became obsessed with free-flight around the age of 17 and has spent more than two decades sharing his passion for the sport with others through his hang gliding school. Though few and far between, each brings incredible views and thrilling experiences.

Luckily the Southeast is home to more than one exemplary hang-gliding center. Gazing down at the world from such dizzying heights brings this amazing sense of perspective. “It’s like a childhood fantasy come true the freedom is intoxicating. “The wind is in your face and you’re soaring like a bird,” says Don Guynn, owner-instructor of the Virginia Hang Gliding Flight School. Only there are no roads, lanes, traffic lights, motorists, or rumbling engines to contend with. Hang-gliders, I realize, are like the motorcycles of the sky. Gliding over isolated wetlands, bays, and the longest chain of undeveloped barrier islands in the global temperate zone proves to be a bucket-list experience. Tandem tours carry visitors upward of a mile in the air and feature views of the Chesapeake Bay and more than 100 miles of protected shoreline. The sighting leads to a fantastic discovery: The Shore is home to one of the most unique hang-gliding operations on the East Coast. I pull over and watch them cruise over maritime forests and dense tidal marshes toward Quinby Harbor, Upshur Bay, and the wild barrier islands that lay beyond. I went looking for a hang gliding shcool. 13, I spot something unexpected: A pair of hang-gliders soaring high above Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Free as a bird- find an elite hang gliding school to offer one-of-a-kind views and adrenaline-packed adventure.Ĭruising a rural stretch of U.S.

Hang glider