Wing Man

Somewhere along the Eastern shore where the corn grows in endless rows and the land is as flat as a pancake, lies a run-down air field and a small quaint town with a population of less than 1,500 called Ridgely, Maryland.

It is where my husband has currently embarked on his mid-life crisis adventure, hang gliding.

Hang gliding is something that has been on his "bucket list" since he was 12 years old, and he is finally living out his life dream of flying like a bird, or wanting to be like Superman - -  I'm not sure which.

Of course it takes time to learn how to hang glide properly and safely. So, he is attending a training school with Highland Aerosports at the Ridgely Air Field during the weekends. In fact, he started his lessons last fall and should be finished up with them sometime this spring. He will have to have obtain a certain amount of hours flying tandem with an instructor before he will be allowed to fly solo and become a certified hang glider.

Instructor Steve and FW make their way to the runway accompanied by Nelly the dog

FW gets comfortable with the glider

FW walks the glider to the runway

Instructor Steve and FW prepare for takeoff

This tow plane pulls the glider into the air, then releases it once it reaches correct altitude

Once in the air, FW must maneuver the glider to the right or left and maintain control

You might ask, what will FW do when he is done training and becomes a certified hang glider? Will he purchase a glider? Will he jump off mountains? Well, I've been wondering the same thing myself. So, I'll keep you posted once I find out. In the meantine, you can check out his takeoff and landing in the videos posted below.