Loose Grip, Loose Grip, 

 Loose Grip 



The first instruction a student 

 receives at Kitty Hawk Kites is by way 

 of a video, which shows would-be pilots 

 successfully and jubilantly making their 

 first flights. For balance, the video also 

 shows some first-timers tumbling onto 

 the sand like drunken pterodactyls — 

 examples of what not to do. 



As the narrator's mellifluous voice 

 speaks of the "soft and forgiving sand 

 dunes" and encourages 

 students to "let the 

 glider fly you," I have 

 a revelation. 



Aha! It's the zen 

 of hang gliding, I think. 

 All I need to remember 

 is to let the glider fly 

 me. And if it doesn 't, 

 the forgiving sand will 

 cushion my fall. 



I can handle that. 



The video also 

 urges students to 

 remember two main 

 rules of learning to 

 hang glide: (1) relax 

 and (2) obey the 

 instructor's command. 

 I later learn the 

 importance of rule 

 number two. 



First, though, I 

 have to get into the 

 harness that will cradle 

 me under the glider. 

 Weaver introduces the 

 equipment, showing 

 my classmates and me 

 how to step into the 

 harness and explaining 

 the importance of the 

 carabiner, the hook on the back that 

 attaches to straps on the glider. 



I know I am in trouble when I can't 

 adjust the leg straps to fit snugly against 

 my thighs. Weaver had made it look so 

 easy — just lift the strap and pull, he'd 



Andy Torrington explains the physics of hang gliding. 



said during his effortless demonstration. 

 I wrestle with my own straps as the other 

 students and I heave ourselves over the 

 front dune to the site of our lesson. 



The instructors I meet at Jockey's 

 Ridge are young, tanned and fit — they 



The author flies - not too high. Torring 



look as if they would be equally at ease 

 wearing a wetsuit and riding the waves 

 as they are flying over the sand. They 

 have a contagious enthusiasm for hang 

 gliding and are patient, courteous, 

 encouraging and compassionate. 



And that's a good thing. When you 

 hook yourself to a large winged contrap- 

 tion, jump into the air wearing it and then 

 attempt to set yourself upright again on 

 the ground without flipping sideways — 

 you really want compassion. 



Before our first flight, the instructor 

 leads us through a brief ground school, 

 which consists of learning about the 

 structure of the glider and a reiteration of 

 the rules in the video. Our instructor, Andy 



4 JULY/AUGUST 1997 



