Sky Time

Sky Time

Is your helmet on tight? Is your harness buckled? Are you feeling courageous? Well then, let’s fly! Today Josh and Anne are taking us on an adventure through the skies. With no motor, no parachute, and no hot air balloon, they are going flying. How? With hang gliders! Josh and Anne are joining us today in Queenstown, New Zealand, a city whose people are known for having fun in the great outdoors. “ I have always wanted to fly, and I think hang gliding sounds like fun. Do you want to come?” says Josh.

“ It sounds exciting, but I’m a little nervous about it. Then again, it’s good to try new things . . . so let’s go! ” says Anne. Hang gliding is actually very easy. Josh will fly with a championship glider. Tom is great at doing stunts and flying fast. Anne will fly with a glide instructor named Rick, who is good at teaching beginners.

With the hang gliders packed on the roof of the van, everyone drives to the top of the mountain that overlooks Queenstown. It takes the instructors only twenty minutes to assemble poles and pieces into a complete glider. Josh and Anne seem pretty impressed. Rick calls Anne over for her first lesson on flying. “ Okay, first, you need a helmet that fits your head well. How does this one work?” “ It feels comfortable and nice and hard, ” says Anne.

Then Rick explains the next piece of equipment. “ Great. Next you need a harness. This one should fit you. It looks like a sleeping bag, but it is very strong. It will hook you to the glider tightly so you can’t fall out. ” “ I’d better not fall out! ” While Rick and Anne get her harness fitted, Tom gets Josh ready for their jump. “ Cheers, Josh. When we’re hooked up to the glider, I’ll ask if you’re ready.

If you feel nervous and you’re not ready, say ‘Wait. ’ But, if you feel ready, say ‘Ready. ’ Got it?” “ Excellent! I’m ready to fly already! Let’s go! ” says Josh. “ In just a minute, we’ll start back here, away from the edge. When you say ready, I’ll count one, two, three. At one, we start running. At two, we run harder. At three, we throw ourselves off the cliff. ”