Why do I fly?

From time to time I am asked this simple question. And sometimes I can be asking myself the same question, even when in the air.
So, what is it that keeps me coming back? What is it that draws me back to strap myself into a glider and run off a hill?
Leonardo Da Vinci once said “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”
For me, this quote is very apt. Since the first day of my Hang Glider training back in 2004, every day my thoughts are drawn to the sky, to the weather, to my glider and to who might like to run off the hill with me.
As with most pilots, my training was hard work. My first few days involved much running, both up, and down hills. I was fortunate that I seemed to have a knack, and from the very start, my runs down the hills, even the shallow hills, lifted me off the ground. I was even lucky enough on my first day of training to have a small gust come up the hill just as I had lifted off and lifted me a further thirty feet. It felt great. I didn’t panic. It felt right. Though my instructor may have been wishing she had parked the car further out of the way.
As my training went on, I continued to enjoy the air, I even seemed to enjoy the process of learning to fly. But at last the end came, and I walked away as a pilot. Of course, as we know now, as more mature pilots, that is only the start. Now I had to find a home site, a club, and strike up some friendships.
This is a hard time for many pilots. For me, it was made difficult because of the time of year. My nearest and most accessible site was Stanwell, but, as my training was in April/May, the winds were all wrong for the next few months. So, back to my instructor we go!!
Given that I was a low hours newbie, and that I had no idea of any winter sites around Sydney, my instructor suggested, that to keep me in the air and tide me over for the winter months, that I should go back and do a ground-tow endorsement. Cool !!
So, after buying a radio, wiring up my helmet and waiting a few weeks, I was off again.
This is where I was to meet many of the friends, I still see, and fly with today. A group of us, about six, were there to get a bit of flying in and learn to launch behind a vehicle. Being so new to the sport, ground launching looked pretty strange, dangerous and scary. But after seeing how it was all done we were all up for the challenge.
Flying now became a little more complicated. Now we had to manage not only our gliders and a harness, but also a radio, calls on the radio, and a whole lot of ropes and a release. This could be interesting !!
My first launch doing ground-tow was certainly exciting. I remember running a few steps then I was up, not only that, but it felt like I was going up in an elevator. What a ride. I loved it. Not only that, but I could fly back to the launch spot and go again. Damn, this was the way to go!
Suffice to say, that this kept me going till winter drew to a close, and Stanwell then beckoned.

End Part 1
Just wait for part 2