I have flown in my dreams. I can't tell you when I started flying in my dreams nor how often I fly, but I have and I still do some. It's awesome.
As for the hang gliding "bug".... when did I catch it? I'm not really sure of that either.
I do know that I've always enjoyed watching them fly. I've been up to Lookout Mountain to watch them fly before and I've been over to Dunlap to do the same. I have sat for hours watching folks take off and soar, until the sun went down. I have even been on a hang gliding simulator at Disney World, "Soarin'". That was a GREAT ride. We went to Disney World for Spring Break, March 2006. It was Charlotte's and Riley's first time. If you'd like to experience the Soarin' ride, check out the video below.
I had wanted to hang glide on one of my earlier birthdays. But it just didn't happen. I thought it was the 35th, but that would have been in 1997 and prior to my divorce. I'm not sure I was thinking about it then. After the divorce, I watched hang gliders fly for hours with a friend as therapy, so maybe I thought about it the next year or for my 40th. For my 45th birthday, I threw a taekwondo party.
So, I decided that it would be a great thing for my 50th birthday. However, in the recent months, I started wondering why should I wait a full year for something I really and truly wanted to do now. So, I determined that my hang gliding / flying dream would come true for my 49th birthday.
I called Thrill A Minute Hang Gliding and connected with Clark and we set a date and time, October 10, 3pm. I chose his location because I wanted to run off the mountain, not be towed up into the sky. I'm sure being towed is pretty cool too, but I really wanted to experience the full deal.
I have no regrets.
It was a gorgeous day with some promising winds. I drove up a little early to relax and was able to take some pictures from the bluff and enjoy the breeze, chat with some hang gliders, and watch one guy (Robin, formerly of Montana) take off the ramp.
Ground school training took place while Clark put together the hang glider.
My friend and former teaching colleague from UTC, Hilary Browder, was able to come up to be my photographer. She and Lilly, an adorable puppy, joined us during set up time.
I was most nervous about two things-- running and jumping off that ramp.
Running-- because of all days, my right knee decided to give me problems. I had ACL replacement surgery in 2000 and have had some problems off and on. Why yesterday needed to be a problem day, I don't know. It felt like the plica was catching again inside and sticking some. But not all the time. Since we needed to run to get speed, that might be a problem. I told Clark about it and he said he wasn't worried. He would drag me if he needed to. He was serious. He said once we were strapped in and on that ramp and moving..... well, it was too late to back out. I wasn't wanting to back out, but it was good to know that if my knee gave, I could still fly.
Jumping off that ramp-- I have rappelled. I have rappelled Australian-style (head first facing down the rock). I have done Project Adventure things in the trees on the ropes courses. But, this would be a little bit different. I would still be hooked in. But my feet would be leaving the ground. So, I was a little nervous.
Yet, in spite of my nervousness, I was more excited. I felt like a little kid on some kind of wild and exciting adventure. Honestly, I couldn't stop smiling. I smiled most of the time. That is, except when my stomach finally started getting queasy after flying about 40 minutes.
Flight check-in.... take off... in the air...
Thermal lifts.... turbulence... butterflies... hawks.... a moth that flew between our heads... two other hang gliders in the air with us... one Cessna plane... getting to see the smoke stacks from above..... the trees.... the fields... the Sequatchie Valley... the birds below.... being in the air... floating / flying / soaring / cutting through the wind... stalls... going slow... going 40 miles per hour... being up about 1000 feet and maybe slightly higher... being up for 50 minutes... learning about the incredible sport from such an experienced person.... experiencing piloting personally (though I was extremely timid, cautious, and not very good)... blue skies... clouds... silence when you stalled... landing...
It took a few moments to find my land legs again when we landed. Walking after having been prone for that long was odd. It was also odd to be on the ground again. In a way, it was a let down. After the freedom of being in the air and soaring, there is something different about being on solid ground again.
For me, this wasn't "just" a flight. It was an opportunity to be in a part of my Creator's world in a way that I normally am not. Creation is one of my strongest connection points with my Creator. And, to experience flying with the birds, moths, and butterflies.... to feel the powerful thermal lifts.... to feel the air around me... to see for miles and miles... wow!
There is always a rhythm. An ebb and flow. For me, yesterday I was able to experience what it felt like to fly. I was able to live my dreams of flying. Then, I was on solid ground again.
If I didn't have to get back home for an online midterm review (that I was going to be running late for as it was), I would have stayed a little longer and watched the others fly some and watch the sunset from those beautiful rocks and bluff.
It was a gorgeous setting. Refreshment for my soul in so many ways.
What a wonderful blessing!
As I mentioned, I have flown before.... many airplane flights. I have even been up in a Helio Courier, thanks to a fellow camp counselor friend and her dad in Nashville in the 80s. That was an awesome experience! Fly-bys, landing and taking off..... I got green on that.... had to use one of those sandwich bags, but oh what an awesome adventure!
And, then there was the helicopter ride once in Costa Rica when we were in La Suiza on a mission trip. A pilot came by our work site one afternoon and those of us who wanted rides could take them. Of course I took that opportunity! That was awesome to see Costa Rica from a helicopter.
But, there is something different about not being confined in the air by a plane around your body, by being simply in the air and moving through it.
Suffice it to say.... I loved it! If I had the "bug" prior to yesterday, you might say that I'm full blown infected now.
But, no worries. I'm not running out to buy my own glider and taking lessons. Not yet. I'm waiting on my two wheels to get fixed so I get some wind beneath my wings on my motorcycle. That's the air I'll be getting until I go tandem one day again.
One last thing....
Because this flight strengthened and refreshed me spiritually and otherwise, I believe these verses from Isaiah to be fitting for my experience:
Isaiah 40: 28-31
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the faint,
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Even youths will faint and be weary,
and the young will fall exhausted;
31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.
Blessings on your journey!
Debra
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| ramp at Tennessee Tree Toppers, pic by dd |
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| getting ready to go, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| landed, pic by Hilary Browder Clark Harlow, tandem instructor and dd |
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| flying, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| hello!, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| getting the harness on, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| up in the air, in the clouds (kinda), pic by Hilary Browder |
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| coming in for a landing, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| running off the ramp, pic by Hilary Browder |
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| put your left foot in, pic by Hilary Browder notice the shirt! (Ticos, ¡Pura vida!) |
P.S. Here were my first thoughts / report of my flight that I posted on Facebook:
"Let me just say that was THE MOST AWESOME FLIGHT I have ever had in my life. No offense to Delta, United, Eastern or any of the others I've ever taken, but my flight today was SUPER AWESOME!! In ...the air about 50 minutes. Had some shoulder problems, but did okay. LOTS of thermal. Got to 1000 feet and a little above. Flew with butterflies, hawks, AND a moth flew in between us. I was a little hesitant in being the main pilot. The VIEW was spectacular. Took me a few minutes to find my land legs upon landing. I finally got to make my dreams a reality (I fly in my dreams). I will post pics and video later. Oh, for all who know me well.... a HUGE surprise... No curse words slipped out.... ☺"
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