There are certain feelings you just won’t ever quite “get” until you experience them. Think riding your first roller coaster or jumping out of your first airplane (What? You haven’t tried?). Now, imagine flying—not in a plane, or a balloon, or with a parachute. Just a few dozen miles north of Westchester, you can strap on wings and literally take off.One of the best features of hang-gliding is how simple it is to get started. And not just in terms of speed, but in terms of method. Generally, the more relaxed a pilot is, the less likely he or she is to move the hang-glider the wrong way, and the more likely he or she is to take off. “Relax. Act like a sack of potatoes,” our instructor Brian often reminded us. Not the easiest words for a native New Yorker to live by, but we got the point. And yes, it’s quick to get started in the temporal sense, too. The adventure starts with a little reading, lest one descend into the pitfalls of “jackrabbit starts” or “ramp suck.” The former is a prohibition against running too fast when taking off, and the latter…well, we’re not quite sure, but we don’t think we did it. Next, we helped assemble the hang-glider, checked it for safety, and wheeled it half way up a hill about the size that would make for a solid 10-second sled ride. And while the story does not end with us jumping off cliffs, it does include flight. We strapped on our wings, walked, jogged, and ran down the hill. And, wouldn’t you know it, our feet lifted from the ground…a few inches…for a few seconds.
We left saying: “We believe we can fly.”
Bring a Friend: Yes. It’s fun to see who can stay in the air the longest.
Fear Factor: Low. Then again, so was our height off the ground
Just Do It: flyhighhg.com, (845) 744-3317
Plus
â–º Paintball
â–º Fight Club
â–º Archery
â–º Fly an Airplane
â–º Drive a racecar
â–º Rock Climb
â–º For more from 914INC’s Q2 2013 Issue, click here.
