Well, it’s not everybody’s cup of tea, and it’s certainly not ours, but some folks like to do it, so here’s information about hang gliding around Orlando.
Of course, if you’ve ever been around Orlando, you’ll know that there aren’t any real mountains, and not too many tall hills. So, how do you hang glide around Orlando.
You visit Wallaby Ranch, that’s how.
Photo: http://www.wallaby.com
Wallaby Ranch offers hang gliding with a difference. They have what they call aerotow… that’s a hang glider on wheels which, when pulled down a runway by a small aircraft, soon whisks the hang glider into the air.
In the words of the proprietor of Wallaby Ranch “The very concept of a hang gliding school built around two-place in-air instruction was invented here. It was in 1991 when Malcolm Jones, founder and owner of Wallaby Ranch, outfitted tandem hang gliders with wheels for easy take-offs and landings, which in conjunction with aerotowing revolutionized hang gliding instruction and paved the way for a better, safer, and more enjoyable way of learning how to fly. ”
“Aerotowing is a system where a hang glider is towed aloft with a specially designed ultralight towplane (a so-called ‘aerotug’, or ‘tug’, for short). Although towing hang gliders – using boats, trucks or winches – has been part of the sport since its inception, most people still think that in order to hang glide, you need a mountain to launch from.
While footlaunching and mountain flying remain an important aspect of hang gliding, the development of aerotowing in the late 80’s opened up the possibility of flatland-flying and revolutionized the way hang gliding is being taught, making the sport accessible to practically anyone. Aerotow tandem instruction by far the easiest, fastest, safest, and most enjoyable way to learn how to fly hang gliders, and it is aerotowing that gives us access to the year-round excellent flying conditions here in sunny Central Florida. ”
So, have you got a hankering to “hang around” at Wallaby Ranch? Here are the coordinates.
Wallaby Ranch
Malcolm Jones
1805 Deen Still Road
Davenport, FL 33897
1-800-WALLABY
+1 (863) 424-0070
E: fly@wallaby.com
W: www.wallaby.com
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