Kitty Hawk Kites President and founder, John Harris, launching from Jockey’s Ridge on Saturday.
You can never tell who is going to show up at the Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding Spectacular. Or perhaps better said—who’s going to fly.
The winds Saturday were strong, from the south and a little gusty. Over the past few years the best flying conditions have moved to the south face of Jockey’s Ridge, and there were a number of hang gliding pilots having some fun with what were good if challenging conditions.
And at the top of the ridge, there was company President and founder, John Harris, prepping gliders, holding the nose down as pilots strapped themselves in and talking wind conditions as pilots got ready to launch.
About the time pilots started leaving, was about the time John decided it was his turn—after all, he may have been the first person to fly a hang glider off the Nags Head dunes. Forty-one years after he founded the company, John showed he still knows hang gliders. It was a beautiful flight . . . smooth, good distance and he stuck the landing.
“It’s just fun to get lifted off the ground and to be able to control the glider,” he said. “It brings back a lot of fond memories of flying.”
The Kitty Hawk Kites hang gliding school is the oldest and largest in the world, teaching from ages 4-92 how to fly. Really, that’s the ages they have taught to fly. It’s a great family memory and wonderful way to spend a day.
