This weekend we went to Chattanooga, TN and the boys flew twice on Friday at Lookout Mountain Flight Park.   Then, on Saturday it was rained out so we went out that night to the Riverbend Festival and heard Charlie Daniels play and watched the fireworks show.  Finally, on Sunday the boys flew twice again at Henson’s Gap this time in the Sequatchie Valley.

Frances, Matt, Barry at Riverbend inDowntown Chattanooga, TN

Smiley Face Fireworks!

Fireworks!

Matt and Ricker Soaring in the Sequatchie Valley

I went out to Lake Norman in Charlotte, NC and met Ben Burril.  It was early morning and the wind was very light with scattered clouds.  It was really hot though!  I was towed up four different times and got a total of about 10-15 minutes of airtime, which is great for me!  I was flying a Gemini glider that is way too big for me, but works.

The first flight I was able to get about half way across the lake and then came down.  That was the longest I have flown boat towing yet!  I was really excited.  I finally figured out how to shift my body weight to control the direction of the glider, but I was over compensating.

The second flight I flew the ENTIRE way across the lake!!! WOW, I was totally stoked! I made it!  I did much better this flight, but was only leading with my feet and was forgetting to move my shoulders too.
My third and fourth flights were about half way across the lake again and I started to get tired so it was time to call it quits.

I had a great day out there and was taught a bunch of new things.  LOTS of progress for me! Yea!!

Me hooking in!

Getting the lines straight to fly!

Me FLYING!!!

This has been a very eventful weekend!  The weather was awful, raining and dark so flying was not really looking good for the weekend at Lookout Mountain or Hensons with the Tennessee Tree Toppers.  Matt and I drove to Lookout Mountain Flight Park to pick up my new harness.  I bought a GT cross country harness from them.  It fits perfect!  It is snug and very comfortable.  I also finally had the opportunity to set up my Airwave 9m Pulse hang glider!

We also went to Maryville, TN to visit one of Matt’s College friends.  We went to Aubreys for dinner and hung out.  On Sunday we took the long route to Asheville, NC to see Matt’s mother.  We drove thru the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and made some fun stops along the way.

We also drove down part of the Blue Ridge Parkway.  The weather was cool and slightly sunny with lots of clouds.  The views were amazing.

This weekend was the Fly-In at Glassy Mountain.  On Saturday there was a good turn out of people that came to fly.  I believe John Ray had the longest flight.  Most everyone else had a sled run or flew for just a little bit then landed.  The weather was great even though the wind was not exactly giving us prime conditions to fly.  The last few days for me have been frustrating because my eye has been giving me lots of trouble.  As a result, I was not able to set up my glider or do any runs off the training hill either.  I was very bummed!  I met some great people though!  We also had a great confetti egg fight to end the evening between Matt, Noah, and I.

Matt on launch:

Sunday (today), the weather was not showing the right wind direction, but there are people flying from what I understand.  I stayed home because I am still not quite feeling up to my normal self.  Hopefully, I will hear some great stories later this evening.

This last week I had a great opportunity to go to the Rob Kells Hang Gliding Competition at the Florida Ridge Air Park in LaBelle, FL.  You can look at the pictures posted here or check out their blog.  I took three tandem lessons with Steve Larson.  I also got a rare chance to take a tandem flight a mile high up with Jonny Durand.  We were towed up by a Dragonfly (i.e. tug) and dropped off above some huge puffy white clouds.  You could not see land in any direction, it was so gorgeous!  While we were flying above the cloud, we saw our “Glory.”  This is when a rainbow that is in a complete circle has our glider shadow in the center of it.  It was breath taking!  It was so amazing.  We flew about a 30 minute flight and enjoyed the clouds and watching our Glory.  We also worked on S turns and figure 8s.  Jonny Durand is the #1 ranked Hang Glider Pilot in the World.  You can see him fly the Morning Glory in Australia by clicking here.

Jonny Durand and Me

I was also very lucky that Jeff Shapiro asked me if I would like him to take me up on an instructional flight.  He is one of Wills Wings World Team Pilots.  We had a rough launch and landing, but a very informative instructional flight!  I was the most at ease on this flight than any other tandem I have taken.

Jeff Shapiro setting up his Wills Wing T2C Glider (I love this glider)

This entire week was full of learning experiences for me as well as for Matt.  I had a spectacular time and met some really neat people.  I can’t wait to see them all again in the next competition.  Good luck to those in the Flytec Race and Rally!  I am sure wishing I was there.

Overall at the end of the week Matt got 4th place in the Sport Class.  He also beat his personal best glide.  His new best is 31.5 miles!  Go Matt!

Below is a picture of the gliders staging for take-off.

The truck packed with me and 6 others

So this last weekend I went to Lookout Mountain Flight Park and bought a 1996 second generation 9m Pulse that is purple and yellow made by Airwave.  I also bought a harness that is going to be black with a 6 inch stripe from my hips to my feet that is black with silver hang gliders spread on it.  I am really excited and can finally start my lessons on the training hill AGAIN!  Now all that is left to buy is my parachute and helmet!  I will post pictures as soon as I pick them both up!

On Friday night, we camped in our tent.  It got down to the 20s!!! Talk about cold!  I laughed so much the entire night and don’t remember sleeping much.  I was laughing at how stupid we were for camping in a tent and sleeping on an air mattress with tons of blankets.  It was quite funny.  We were tucked under the covers including our heads.  When one of us had to move we would warn the other and count and move.  It was hilarious, but a fun memorable moment in time.

I took my HAM radio test today and passed.  I am now an official licensed HAM radio operator.  Wooo!  Hoooo!  I will post my call sign in a few days when I receive it.  I was given a HAM radio for Valentine’s Day and still learning how to use it and its capability.  It is a Yaesu FT270R.  Very excited.  Hang Gliding… Here I come!

This weekend has been great.  We went to Charlotte, NC to meet up with some of Matt’s old college buddies.  We hung out all night at this bar called the Tavern on the Tracks.  It was a great place, very cozy, but yet spacious.  Watched a few of the basketball games and kicked back.  Had a few that decided crazy dancing was their calling that night, which made things quite entertaining.  Good times, good times.

We also attended the yearly hang gliding meeting for the South Carolina Hang Gliding Association Club and Matt was voted the President and Safety Officer.  Congrats to him!  This should be a great hang gliding year for all of us.  I should be able to finish my lessons, Tennessee Tree Toppers is having a ton of competition days, and the weather is going to be just right!  I just know it!

Day 1: Back and Biceps

Day 2: Plyometrics

Here we go again for a second start of the P90X workout series! My knee and hips hurt after the Plyometric workout!  I need to get back in shape so that I will be ready for more Hang Gliding Lessons!

Well the rest of this week was about me being sick from the Hydrogen Peroxide I accidentally drank.  It has made me so sick!

This was a week long event that took place in Dunlap, TN at the Tennessee Tree Toppers Launch site.  It was all about Hang Gliding and it was a blast.  Although I am not a solo Hang Glider Pilot yet, I was taught so much great information that will help me be a really great Pilot in the future.  They held all kinds of seminars such as learning how to use the GPS to ready the clouds and weather.  There was a wealth of information right at my finger tips because we had some of the most experienced, best, record holding pilots at this meet.  I met an amazing amount of wonderful people that I hope to see again in the future.  I also was able to camp the whole week which was fun and very pleasant to be away from the phone and internet and media and work for that long.  It was so relaxing, but very cold at night!  Below is the Team Challenge Crew:

I also was able to take a flight with Clark Harlow off the new ramp off the mountain that is about 1400ft above the landing zone.  Running off that ramp was very exhilarating.   Also, if you would like to take a soaring tandem Hang Gliding flight with Clark Harlow  go to www.hangglidetennessee.com.