Gonanda, NY

11:42 PM

There I was again, at the flight park, this time staring at a hang glider. I was supposed to go up with the owner. This time no engine. No propeller. Just us, the wind, and the sky. When you trust someone, there are no nerves for new experiences. That was the case here. I had never been on a hang glider before, but my trust in him, his experience, and expertise set me at ease.

After signing more waivers, he went over some rules, how to operate the glider as well as the parachute. He is a man of go go go energy and there was no time to waste. I put on a borrowed pair of shades and a helmet, then laid stomach down in the harness. He strapped in the harness below. The engine propelled tow was maybe 100 feet in front of us. We were tied to it and I felt the lurch forward once it moved forward. We were being dragged across the grassy field of the flight park. The glider got off the ground for a moment and then hit again. We did this a couple of times until the tow and the glider were airborne. It was kind of like water skiing where we did our best to stay directly behind the tow as it circled us higher and higher in the clear blue sky. It was good to hear the pilot say the air was “perfect” for a first ride.

At about 2,500 feet the tow and the glider operators gave each other hand signals. Suddenly the tow rope was cut, the tow dipped down to the left in a hard dive to the earth and there was silence. There was just us and the wind. We floated, or I guess we flew around the sky above Gonanda and Macedon. Like last time, I could see Lake Ontario, the skyline of Rochester, and Canandaigua Lake. I screamed out in joy as we did high bank turns. We made tight turns as well as wide swooping ones. The green ground below stared up at me. It felt like I was in a dream as we spun around and around. There was never a sudden jolt or a time when I was fearful. It was all adrenaline and totally mind clearing. It was a feeling that I had never experienced and one that I knew I would have to try again.

We stayed up in the air for about 30 minutes. I took the controls for a short time, but was more focused on riding and flying. The sound of the wind and nothing else was incredible. We were birds.

And as birds do, we had to land. We swooped in circles, being sure to be facing into the wind as we put the three wheels of the glider down on the grassy runway. After getting out of the harness I high fived the driver and the smile on my face was permanent for many minutes afterward. The sky continues to call…