The Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding School just celebrated a pretty significant milestone; the first all female led Hang Gliding Lesson in company history! What better time to celebrate this accomplishment than on International Women’s Day? Read on to learn more about Lead Instructor Alex Jones, Hang Gliding Instructor Skylar Grindstaff, KHK’s part in getting girls in the sky and most importantly, the very female future of hang gliding!
Alex Jones (right) and Skyler Grindstaff (far left) recently taught the first Kitty Hawk Kites hang gliding lesson led exclusively by female instructors
A Long Time Coming
When thinking of “extreme” or “adventure” sports like hang gliding, unfortunately, female pilots and students aren’t typically the first thing that come to mind. Society often tries to push the idea that adrenaline sports are an exclusive “boys club” and a generally masculine field. Kitty Hawk Kites, and more broadly the sport of hang gliding, however, has continually shifted the narrative to make this sport an accessible and inclusive one for everybody. Since its founding in the early 70’s female pilots have been a steady presence throughout the KHK Hang Gliding Program. Even with the advent of the flexible wing that launched the infrastructure for the first modern gliders, Gertrude Rogallo was the one to sew the material for her husband Francis’ invention. Later on, early KHK pilots and instructors like Jackye Reynolds brought a female presence to free flight right out of the gate, and has inspired a tradition of women to join the hang gliding community tied to Kitty Hawk Kites.
Through the years, so many amazing women have contributed greatly to the hang gliding program at Kitty Hawk Kites. Multiple women have placed in our annual hang gliding spectacular— in both novice and advanced divisions! We’ve sponsored female pilots for trips and competitions, we’ve trained many female tug pilots of ultra-light aircrafts, and we’ve continually seen our numbers of female students grow. Currently, both of our flight parks in the Outer Banks and New Hampshire have women in upper level management roles, and in 2023, we celebrated having the most female instructors on staff at our Dune Hang Gliding School in recent history!
Recently, Alexandra Jones is one of the only female pilots in our program to obtain the rank of Lead Instructor by earning her Hang 3 Rating, and passing the ICP (Instructor Certification Program). The role of “lead” allows an instructor to completely oversee and assess a lesson as “hill-boss” and make sure all flights are carried out to a heightened degree of safety and excellence. Paired together with beginner instructor, Skylar Grindstaff, as her runner/assistant instructor, these two awesome gals effectively led our first lesson in company history completely run by women!
Alex and Skylar, their stories, and why they love teaching Hang Gliding
Alex Jones flies her glider above the Currituck Sound. (photo via Instagram).
Alex originally hails from Oregon. She first came to Kitty Hawk Kites in 2022 for a summer job, working in our reservations department as a booking specialist in Duck. After she took her first tandem hang gliding flight at our Cotton Gin flight park in Jarvisburg, NC, she was hooked! She quickly started training for her solo flight, visiting the flight park every morning before her shifts, and later that Summer earned her instructor shirts and starting teaching lessons on the dunes. She’s been flying (and progressing!) ever since!
The hang gliding community has given me so much! I’ve met some of my best friends through this sport and I’ve gotten to teach so many amazing people. It’s been the most rewarding experience working in this program!
Skylar Grindstaff is a dune instructor (dunie) at our Flight School in Jockey's Ridge State Park. (photo courtesy P.F. Flyers)
Skylar will celebrate her third year with Kitty Hawk Kites as an instructor this upcoming Summer. A self-described “free spirit”, she took her first hang gliding lesson before starting her job as an instructor and immediately became infatuated with the sport. She’s had an amazing time flying with friends and this year served as one of our year-round instructors that keep our Jockey’s Ridge School up and running 364 days a year!
My favorite part of teaching is the moment when it actually starts to click for the students. I love seeing their “lightbulb” moments when they get off the ground!
Flying Forward
The female presence in the hang gliding community only grows stronger everyday. Each year we strive to grow our female instructor and student presence, and the members of our staff that do come through our program go on to do amazing things within the sport and the world! On this International Women’s Day, we want to recognize all of the women who are doing their part to make hang gliding a fun and inclusive space for all. Thanks to them we feel ready to fly fly fly into the future!
Become a hang gliding instructor at KHK
Inspired by the women you see here? Join our incredible team of individuals and become a hang gliding instructor for the 2025 Season. We train our instructors from zero experience all the way up to their Hang 3 Rating. If you’re interested, apply here and start teaching the world to fly!
