“I want to fly like an eagle to the sea.” Hang gliding VA’s Eastern Shore

Campbell Field, the oldest public airfield on the Eastern Shore, VA

NEVER dived off the high dive. NEVER  learned to dive period. NEVER even dared to learn how  to turn cartwheels. Even as a teen I NEVER ventured beyond the Ferris wheel and carousel at carnivals. Why? Because I am one of the biggest weenies you’ve ever met.

So why am I contemplating hovering 250 stories in the air with just an aluminium frame,  fabric and no motor?

Sky high- how it looks to the naked eye. Taken by Dan Bowen observing nearby

I can’t explain it–not even to Alex who when I tell her my idea for our newest Eastern Shore  post keeps shouting “Mom, you’re crazy!”   But I remain undaunted. I want to Soar the Shore at Campbell Field Airport in Weirwood.

Maybe its the result of my own mini-midlife crisis, much like Sammie, a cat I had for 20 years. She spent the first 18 hiding -scared of everything that moved or made noise. Then suddenly one day she literally marched out of the closest with a loud meow and  joined in unfazed, in the mayhem of our household.

So at 50 I’m shedding my weenie ways at least temporarily[much like that insanity defense].  It’s a beautiful summer’s morning as we drive  to Gordon Campbell’s Eastern Shore Hang Gliding Center.  All the while Number 1 Daughter keeps repeating “Are you sure you want to do this, Mom?”  Since teens are suppose to be crazier than their parents I know I should be rattled by her persistent pleas but I take comfort in the knowledge that Gordon doesn’t know either of my ex-husbands.

Not far off RT 13 -the main road that runs down the center of the Eastern Shore of Virgina, we turn West and follow lush farm fields. Soon we find ourselves at the grass runway of an airfield founded in 1933. Waiting to greet us, er, warn us that she may be small in statue but this is her airfield, is Christine and Gordon’s dog Piper. With her is Gordon who immediately starts telling me what an incredible time I am going to have.

Piper, airfield mascot with owner Gordon Campbell

We meet the crew: Bill McCarter the aerotug pilot- the tiny plane that will take the hang glider airborne. Jim Coburn, ground  crew, and Mark P.Vanderwerf, the tandem pilot. [NOTE: Handsome all -there are worse ways a girl could spend a Monday morning.]

Setting up the glider with aerotug to the left

In our sue-happy society there is of course pre-flight paperwork to sign.

Then Mark, the pilot I will be barnacled to for the next 15- 25 minutes [again there are worse things...] gives me the run through of what I can expect. At the end he asks “Now you understand that up in the air I’m in charge, right? “

“No problem-boss!”

The Rosary Beads- don't leave home without em. A little God insurance never hurt, right Aunt Jeannie?

Alex will later tell me that seeing how professional everyone was she didn’t fear being  motherless post-flight.

Mark is a United States  Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (USHPA) Certified Instructor.

Mark gets in first then me. The lower half of your body is slung cocoon- like to the pilot.

I am amazed I am really not nervous but I am wondering what the take-off will be like. If this was hang gliding with a jump off a high dune or cliff this post would not be happening. [Haven't we all had nightmares like that?]

Getting ready to meet the friendly skies up close and personal

But before I know it the aerotug plane starts down the grass runway that looks like something out of Petticoat Junction.

So far so good...oh, we haven't left terra firma yet

HERE WE GO!

Yeah, this is going to be cool!

From above cornfields look like masterpieces

This is actually beyond cool. We are still being pulled by Bill and the aerotug

WOW waterworld. Check out the creeks leading to the Chesapeake Bay!

No more aerotowing, we are on our own. What an incredible sense of freedom. [Course Mark probably doesn't feel that way with me velcroed to his back.]

It’s surprisingly not noisy. At times it is a perfect silence. No wonder osprey look so serene when floating on thermals.

I have no trouble hearing Mark as he walks me through everything he’s doing and points out the landmarks. His mellow manner keeps me at  ease.

The youngest person Mark has taken hang gliding was 4 years old. [Hard to be a weenie after hearing a preschooler did this.]Yes he has flown with birds “some get weirded out”, he says. Can you blame them? I’m can’ t believe I’m not fazed about how far from God’s green earth I am. The most daunting thing is remembering that dang camera takes pictures every 5 seconds!

You have to see our peninsula from the heavens. It's just like Gordon says, you can truly appreciate how fragile and beautiful the Eastern Shore is.

Now if I was taking hang gliding lessons I would be in Mark’s position as he taught me the ropes. It can take as little as a week if you take multiply lessons a day, but usually folks train for 2-3 weeks to get their wings–their hang gliding certificate.

But  tandem hang gliding suits me.

No skills, no physical prowess needed.

And as Mark says as you soar the Shore: “No worries”.

Preparing for a bumpy landing like the one the airlines provide.

But it was as smooth as a baby's bottom.

“I want to fly like an eagle to the sea. Fly like an eagle, let my spirit carry me.” Steve Miller

Find out how to fly at:

http://www.easternshorehanggliding.com/index.html

Check out Mark soaring untethered! I prefer watching  the video on mute [or maybe pipe in some classical music] But I’m an old fart.