World Record Hang Gliding Flight

(gentle music) - Well, that was a long time ago, but I always had dreams of flying.

I think if I ran fast enough I could get up in the air and fly.

And when I finally had the chance to do it myself it just became a part of me.

(jaunty music) I was a really, really shy kid.

And that's why I got into hang gliding 'cause it's something I could do by myself, and I didn't have to deal with other people.

But getting into competition forced me to get past that shyness.

When I started competition, the funnest ones for me were just open distance.

They'd just say go, and you'd take off, and you can just go as far as you can possibly go.

And you do that for five or six days in a row.

And I just loved doing that.

So I got drawn into the cross country aspect.

(wind whooshing) We have a lot of wind in Wyoming.

And so I discovered a mountain out here called Whiskey Peak.

And I was the first person to fly off of Whiskey Peak.

And I knew that world records were possible out there.

I just had to be the first one, so I had to keep my mouth shut.

There was only one other guy in the world that had flown 200 miles.

And I figured a 350 mile flight was possible.

So I got certified, and got ready, and just started trying to set world records.

My first world record was 224 miles.

And nobody really paid much attention to that because the previous world record was 221 miles.

And I came back on August the second, and it was a amazing day.

I took off at 9:30 in the morning, got clear out into South Dakota, and I knew I'd beat the world record, but not by very far.

And I just needed one more thermal.

I was just like, one more thermal.

And I looked a little bit to the north, down below me, and there was an eagle circling.

And the eagles, when they're circling, they're in a thermal.

So I just beelined it over right on top of that eagle, and I climbed back up to about 12,000 feet.

I got lucky and landed at 287 miles.

And everybody took notice of that one.

(dynamic music) I set those world records foot launching, where you don't have any power input, and you have to run off of a mountain.

Nowadays, everybody that seriously wants to fly long distance flies by towing up.

Once they figured out how much easier tow launching is they've pushed the records out almost to 500 miles.

But, I don't think anybody's ever foot launched anything and beat my record.

(wheels rattling) (engine rumbling) (laughs) Trikes are so easy.

I can walk out here, punch a button, the door goes up, do a pre-flight, fire it up, warm it up, in five minutes I'm flying.

So that's a powered hang glider.

They fly exactly like a hang glider does, just a lot more pressure to do it 'cause you're swinging so much weight and everything.

But it's a weight shift, so all you gotta do is step on the throttle to go up.

And it's just a much easier way to get in the air.

And plus I can share it because I can give rides.

Somebody that's flying for the first time ever, they're just like, whoa, whoa, whoa.

I just love giving that experience and sharing it with people.

Put your nose down, run hard.

So I've probably taught 25, 30 people how to fly hang gliders.

And I don't make a living out of it, I don't make money out of it.

I just, I love to fly so much that I just share it.

The thing about it is, you progress through your life.

When I was young, and selfish, and all about me, I wanted to set the records, and I wanted all that myself.

As you grow older, you realize it's not all about you.

It's about other people.

And now that's the point of time in my life.

I still, don't get me wrong, I still love a great thermal.

Flying into a hang glider and feeling those straps tightening, and up you go.

And just the feel of coring a thermal is one of the most amazing things in the world, it really is.

But I love sharing.

But I fly sail planes, and airplanes, and these trikes, and everything.

But hang gliding is the most pure form of flight that I could ever think of.

It's as closest to the dreams that I used to have when I was a kid that you can possibly get.

When I get in a hang glider, I just feel young.

I just feel it's just me.

I just, I'm there.

It's like, here I am again.

There's no age, there's no problems, there's nothing.

I just, hang gliding is such a pure way to fly.

(gentle music)