Neil’s 1st Flight! And More...

Neil went to work extra early today, 4:30am, so he could leave with enough time left in the day to attempt to make his first motorized paraglider flight. He showed up a bit after 2pm and we did a few trial runs with the motor on his back as the final step in training before his flight. After a few successful mock takeoffs we moved to the runway. I took the rig up first to check the air before sending a new pilot up. A little bumpy but not bad.
Then it was Neil’s turn. We reviewed all the steps and checked the radios. Then I gave him permission to give it a go. He did perfect! The wing came up nice, he added just enough throttle at the planned time and soon found himself running into the sky on his first flight. Though he was admittedly awkward with the throttle and the brakes at first he eventually settled in to it and made the three prearranged laps around the field gaining confidence along the way. When it was time to land he set the machine down safely in the middle of the runway. He did it! Neil flew! He went on to make two more flights today, each one more controlled than the last. Congratulations Neil!!
Before all that happened, Sarah, Ryan and Jeff were with me at the sledding hill making their first paraglider flights. They all did great and made several runs down the hill before calling it a day.
Mariyan was at Elver too with his student Brian. Brian is in our free-flying program working towards becoming a non-motorized Paraglider Pilot. He is doing great and really enjoyed flying his new Apco wing.
After the sledding hill it was off to the airport were Mariyan and I met Charles, another free flying student. The plan for Charles was to do some low level towing to get him ready for high tows. He did great! The last tow of the day we pulled him the entire length of the runway, 3,100’ of mowed grass. We got him pretty high and his flight was surprisingly long, long enough for me to wind the tow rope up and drive the ATV all the way to the other end of the runway before he landed. Nice work Charles! Time for the high tows!!
Robert, Nick and Josh #1 were out at the airport too taking advantage of the beautiful day.