Training

I had always been fascinated by flight. Throughout the years I had gone many times and just sat in the flight path of planes taking off and landing at O' Hare Airport in Chicago. At the time you could go right up to the fence and get a good look.  Nowadays you are shooed away by security thanks to increased security threats. As a kid I went repelling down cliffs in Southern Illinois, hiking and camping. That had been the most adventurous thing I had ever done. I hadn't even climbed the water towers in my hometown.

Jeff Goin

This flying sport seemed a little to risky to me but I wanted to learn more about it. The spring of 2004 Jeff began teaching me how to ground handle a paragliding wing. It was not near as easy as Jeff made it look. As it turns out ground handling is the hardest part to learn. Jeff is a very good instructor and was patient as I climbed the learning curve.  I was blessed with better than average coordination and a fit body to go along. This helped me climb the curve quickly.

First day of practice

March in Chicago is not the ideal weather for outdoor activities, but that didn't stop me. I would go out and practice until exhaustion or until my hands and face were numb. As I got better and better self-confidence was building. I thought this is cool. Being able to control the wing and make it do what I wanted (at least some of the time).

Even though I had been learning to ground handle I had not yet made the decision of strapping on a motor. If nothing else it was fun learning.  Jeff recommended I take a tandem ride with an instructor friend of his, Nick Scholtes.

Nick's farm, also known as "The Paradrome" is in Joliet about a 35 minute cruise south. A fenced in field with tall trees, a silo, barn and hanger/workshop. If you need something fixed you can almost guarantee it can get down here. Then there are the creatures; llamas, turkeys, goats, chickens and adopted dogs can be found wandering the area. Noah would be proud.

I was about to get my first taste at flying an ultralight. Barney was it's name. A purple painted ppg trike named after that kids character. I remember the excitement and nervousness that filled me at the same time.

Nick flew gently but I was a little unease on the turns. I had always gotten motion sick as a kid and avoided most high g roller coasters (I know the fun ones). Nick let me steer for awhile, of course I loved it. I was slightly queasy after the flight but not enough to discourage me.

Anxiously waiting in Barney

Two weeks later I was airborne on my own under Jeff's instruction. I continued to fly in Jeff's company under his instruction for the next 35 flights before I went out on my own. There was something about going out on my own that was exciting. I believe it was the self-confidence I had after doing that.

Jeff was always supportive and built my confidence throughout the learning process. I continue to log all my flights with comments about my experiences. It is interesting to look back at it. The learning hasn't ended after 215 flights. That is one of the joys of the sport, you can continue to improve your skills over years.