Dream of Flying

I first came to the Wallaby Ranch Hang Gliding Club when I was 19 years old. I did a tandem flight and was instantly hooked. So, I decided I had to become a pilot. That moment really changed my life.

I clearly remember, as a child traveling on the highway in my home state, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; and hearing my grandfather enthusiastically shout at the back of the car to us kids “Look up, look up.”

I scrambled to the nearest window, looked up and there it was: a hang glider. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. It was quite a sight. I thought who are this people that fly in those kites?

Well, about 12 years later I was one of those people! And gosh, was I happy to be me.

I did fly hang gliders very actively for a number of years, but then I started sailing and hang gliding stopped being the main priority of my life.

From time to time, I come back to the place where I learnt how to fly. This is an amazing place; it really isn’t the real world. There is no better time to be here than in the spring, which is the best flying conditions in central Florida. Hang gliders have no motors, so the way we stay up and fly around is by catching thermals, which are the hot columns of air that rise when the ground warms up in the middle of the day. Right now, right here, it is the best conditions any hang glider pilot could ever ask for.

And, besides that, this year was the 40^th anniversary of the American hang glider manufacturer Wills Wing.

Wills Wing has an annual fly in meeting here at the Wallaby Ranch in the beginning of April called Wills Wing Demo Days, when pilots can demo the company's hang gliders and learn about new designs, and this year was ever so special and a great time to see old friends and meet new ones. Hang gliding is actually a rather small sport so it really is nice to connect with other pilots.

If you ever thought about Hang gliding check out wallaby.com and all I can say is that you should have been here yesterday.

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