Andriew’s 1st Flight and Dane Graduates! And much more...

So much happening at Madcity Paragliding it’s hard to keep up!
​Sunday morning I met Andriew at the sledding hill to get his his first taste of flying a paraglider. We started with some kiting at the bottom of the hill to get warmed up. Then we gradually started working our way up the hill, launching from higher and higher. It wasn’t long before Andriew was making nice flights from top to bottom. Dennis and Chris joined us there for some fun too.
Then Andriew and I went to the hanger to finish up his PPG1 ground school training including the scary movie and running drills in the simulator. If he had time I’m sure he would have made his first powered flight that day. Unfortunately that would have to wait until Monday evening.
Nick got us invited to fly at a sod farm near the Dells Sunday evening, what a great place! The owner, Mike, is awesome and super excited to see us fly there. I’m pretty sure he will be joining us in the sky in the not too distant future.
Since Dane was staying in the dells for vacation it was an easy drive for him. He had just a few flights left of the 25 USPPA required to earn his PPG2 rating. He easily completed the remaining flights with time to spare. So, Dane, Nick and I made a short cross country trip to explore the new area. Congratulations Dane!
Mike also made the trip to the sod farm to take advantage of the huge mowed grass area. His form is really getting good. Nice work Mike!
Monday morning I met Curt and Greg at the airport. There we worked on their in flight skills as well as take offs and landings. We quit when the thermals told us to with plans to resume training after the thermals mellowed. Greg and Curt returned about 5:30 and we picked up right where we left off in the morning.
Andriew drove over from Lake Geneva with his better half, Corinne, with hopes of making his first flight. Nervous, a little scared but ready is how he described his mood. He watched Curt make one flight and then he was ready to take his shot.
Andriew did amazingly well! He nailed his take off, maneuvered around the sky with surprising control and landed on his feet on the first try! Well done Andriew!!
Tuesday morning I met Curt again. We added a couple new in flight skills to his training which he enjoyed, the mid-air restart and a few tasks to improve his landing accuracy. Curt is getting pretty comfortable up there. It’s nice to see him doing so well.