Our Lesson with Jockey’s Ridge State Park Super Intendant, Joy Greenwood

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Since she began as the Jockey’s Ridge State Park Superintendent in 2017, Joy Greenwood has seen our hang gliders flying nearly every day, but with her position comes a sizable workload, which has stifled previous attempts to join our instructors for a lesson. But, after many conversations, we knew it would only be a matter of time until she took flight. This February we got a beautiful, sunny day, and Joy leaped at the opportunity; she came out for a lesson, and now we are happy to report we have a new pilot in training!

There had been some time leading up to this point for Joy to see other people flying. But, when asked what it was like to finally get out there and fly after seeing so many park visitors take their flights, Joy ecstatically replied, “It was truly exciting.  Having watched so many people come off the dunes with such happy looks on their faces, I really wanted to know what it felt like to  hang glide.” And although excited for herself, we’ve come to find she’s often thinking of the park’s visitors first, which is why for Greenwood, she feels it’s important to be able to explain to our visitors what to expect.  “As the park superintendent, I feel it’s important to understand all aspects of what our visitors experience here.  There are many people who come from all over the world to hang glide here and I wanted to have some incite into what draws them to Jockey’s Ridge.”

When we said ‘excited’ earlier, that perhaps was an understatement; so, we were not at all surprised to see Joy jump right into things, and although she claimed some nerves, we did not see any!

“Once the initial nervousness was over, I was able to take things in a little more.  The beauty of seeing the ocean off in the distance and feel the air blow over my whole body was exhilarating.  I can’t wait to get more practice and go on longer trips.”

When we saw her smile, we knew she finally had felt THAT feeling. The wind, the sand, the views, and we finally had gotten to share the feeling we knew so well, and with someone who’s become such a great friend of ours. There is no better feeling in the world than when you feel your feet leave the sand as the winds picks you up, except for the feeling of seeing that moment being passed along to a friend and student. The moment, is indescribable.

The new perspective was an exciting new take for her as well. She reflected how “the view of flying over the dunes is absolutely beautiful.” What our crew really appreciated was that even the park superintendent, who has seen every inch of the park, appreciated the different angle of things. “It is a wonderful experience to enjoy the beauty of the park from a different point of view.”

Stories like Superintendent Greenwood’s are plentiful from the thousands of students who have graced the threshold of the oldest hang gliding school in the world. Hearing each experience continues to reinforce the staff and the sport of hang gliding to continue to truly live and Teach the World to Fly.

Want to fly with us like Joy? Follow this link and save your spots today! 

 

Happy Birthday, Francis Rogallo!

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Francis Rogallo, the NASA aeronautical engineer widely known as the father of modern hang gliding, was born on January 27th, 1912. He eventually celebrated 97 birthdays, but one in particular stands out, in 1974. Just a few years after his retirement from NASA, hang gliding as a sport was truly taking off, and Rog, as he was known to nearly everyone, was invited for his birthday to what was supposed to be the “First Annual Rogallo Meet” at Escape Country, a premier hang gliding site near Trabuco Canyon, Ca.

Despite careful planning by organizer Kas de Lisse, the meet was a bit of a wash. Fog descended onto the mountain, and the ‘Fogallo’ meet was punctuated only by a few intrepid airmen making occasional flights into the mist, (“onward through the fog!”), guided to the landing area by shouts and amplified music. And the tales of the mud that weekend were reminiscent of Woodstock.

What was truly noteworthy was simply Rog’s presence. Most of the pilots knew his name, but his face was anonymous enough that he could wander through the assembled gliders unrecognized, many of which were varieties of what were known simply as “Rogallo Wings.”

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Maralys Wills, matriarch of the famous hang gliding Wills Wing family, described him beautifully in a piece she wrote for Groundskimmer Magazine:

 

“He was the tall man wearing the Russian Cossack hat; at close range, with his head cocked slightly in an attitude of listening, his eyes sparkling and an almost impish smile on his lips, he gave the impression of a tall leprechaun. One could see him throughout the day, observing with wonder the fruits of his earlier imagination. Francis Rogallo, whose birthday the meet was honoring, seemed almost removed from the arena of kiting. It was as if he had turned the switch, and then the machine had gone off and done its own thing.”

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Rog saw an incredible variety of designs at that meet, most of which were based on the flexible wing he and his wife Gertrude invented in 1948. After all the years of trying to get recognition for the possibilities of their invention, the tall, leprechaun-like man must have felt an almost disconnected sense of wonder at what had become of his idea. The machine had gone off and done its own thing, and people all over the world were learning to fly with simple, inexpensive wings–what he had always hoped would happen. He knew what was possible as early as 1949, when he wrote in an article for The Ford Times, “Imagine the thrill of carrying such a glider in your knapsack to the top of a hill or mountain, and then unfurling it and gliding down into the valley below.”

 

Happy Birthday Rog, and thanks for letting us all “imagine the thrill.”

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Written By Billy Vaughn, Francis Rogallo Historian

If you are interested in making a donation to The Rogallo Foundation, which supports educational opportunities involving aerodonetics and low-speed aerodynamics, you can click here!

Wind Art: The Real Art of Making a House a Home

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Decorating your home can take many forms, but at it’s root it is a simple expression of who we are for our neighbors and guests to see. Whether using spinners to make other’s laugh, flags that show our passions, or a plethora of holiday decorations to show off your true love, decorating embodies who we are. At our company, we love the holidays; we also consider ourselves decoration enthusiasts and the holiday season provides the perfect vehicle for us to show our fun side! With all of the great home & garden products we’ve picked up in our stores, it’s such a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. With such a large variety of wind spinners, flags, and other wind art available, we love seeing the disparity of the decorations amongst our KHK family. To say we get excited for any holiday would be an understatement… but as fall rolls in we certainly like to step our game up a bit! Here are a few of the fun displays from some of our KHK crew’s homes for you to enjoy, and maybe even inspire some spooky ideas for your house this fall, or even just some fun ideas to keep up throughout the seasons!

 

Sarah, Toy Buyer – One of the many reasons why we get excited for the holidays is because we get to deck our yard out with all of the great home/garden products we’ve accumulated, available in our stores! It’s such an easy way to get into the festive mood. There are a few kids that live down our street, so we try and keep it fun and not too scary around Halloween. These items by Premier, In the Breeze and Evergreen get the job done perfectly! We enjoy hearing the kids laugh at the silly spinners waving them by as they walk down the street with their parents.

 

Rachel, Kite Buyer – I bought this flag in May to help decorate my house.  We were celebrating my husband who just became an American citizen.

This was my favorite flag that we sold this year, it was perfect all summer!

 

Jessie, HR – After 2 years this sassy garden flag still looks Great! I love the tule layer on the bottom of the hat. Happy Trick or Treating!

 

Salina, Warehouse Manager – Love peter pumpkin. The bike flag from this year is my fav…

 

Kirsten, Store Manager – I love the festive holiday yard art. No matter what season or holiday, there’s something great to choose from to add some flair to your yard! The spinners, windsocks, and particularly the burlap flags, hold up so well that even outside my house by the windy ocean, they last for years! 

 

Hope you enjoyed a little tour through some of our yards! If you love to decorate like we do, check out our online store for all of the great options available to make your house a home!

 

 

 

2017 Outer Banks Watermelon Festival!

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The stage was set, a long table donning a bright red vinyl cover, the contestants patiently waiting for the start. Fans circled around the table, each supporting their contestant or just watching for the show. As the watermelon eating contest took off, so did the chunky spray of watermelon as participants shoved their faces into the fruit as quickly and ferociously as they could. The eating contest was just one of many opportunities people had to gorge themselves as the food came in many forms: watermelon, ice cream, Mulligan’s fish tacos. But, the fun came in even more forms. There were events running seamlessly throughout the day including the ice cream eating contest, the seed spitting contest, and everyone’s favorite…. the watermelon eating contest. Thanks to the planning of our very own events crew, and a day-of help from many volunteers, there were activities for all to enjoy regardless of their interests. Many ki

 

ds tried their hands at a plethora of lawn games and toys, some even took the opportunity to turn their own hands to wax with the ever popular “Wax Hands” station. However, the favorite of the day seemed to be the Pirate inflatable that offered not only a large bounce house, but a waterslide to cool off afterwards. “Food and Fun” was the motto of the day, but the 11th Annual Outer Banks Watermelon Festival had a lot more to it than that. The entire festival was run to support the Outer Banks Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Coalition, a group with a positive mission, “To help facilitate the education and awareness of practical bicycle and pedestrian safety to drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and all those who live or visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina in a positive and proactive manner.” Unfortunately, too many people are injured or killed every year on the Outer Banks trying to cross the highways on bicycles or on foot. For Kitty Hawk Kites, this was an issue that everyone could get behind. Following the Watermelon Festival, when all the money was tallied up, there was $4723 raised! But, the awareness raised can’t be

 

measured. Getting people to recognize the issue at hand and respect the rules of the road can have a lasting effect on the community. If everyone does their part to pay attention and respect the safety of others, hopefully the issue can be eaten away as if it were just a piece of watermelon.