Events & Adventures Phoenix took things to all new heights and spent Sunday soaring above the city. We went hang gliding and experienced a whole new world. High above the zooming cars, city lights, and endless noise we found ourselves at peace among the birds. We were strapped safely and securely into the harness and got the whole thing started with a little help from a tow rope and an airplane specially designed to pull hang gliders.
Once we smoothly reached 3,000 feet we were released from the plane and left to our own devices… well, okay, maybe not entirely alone. We flew tandem, of course, and with the assistance of our instructors some of us even got to try our hand at piloting the hang glider. Some of the turns were similar to those on a roller-coaster, but nothing crazier than that! The entire experience from start to finish lasted about 15 minutes, but a lot of us felt like we could hang out up there for hours! Landing even seemed as effortless and gentle as the take off and perfectly brought everything full circle.
Some members conquered their fear of heights, others stepped outside of their normal comfort zone, and some members just came along for the ride completely without worry. One member recalled his experience as being incredibly nervous the night before and leading up to the event, but once walking out onto the pavement and towards the hang glider he was filled with a sense of calm. Another member was even lucky enough to glide alongside a red hawk and was left with an unforgettable memory. Talk about a once in a lifetime experience!
From start to finish and with the support of friends, we all knocked something new off our bucket lists.
We even overheard a member that was originally afraid of heights talk about potentially going skydiving in the future! It’s safe to say you can’t knock something until you try it and you never know what experiences might open up a whole new world of adventures. Hang gliding for Events & Adventures was another huge success and we can’t wait to get out there and do it all over again!