fly together

i’ve taken a couple short kiteboarding lessons before a few years ago, but never really got anywhere.

I came to the outer banks this summer intent on finally getting over the hump with kiteboarding.

I signed up for the ‘camp’ which is two full days. Jim, the manager of the school, was super awesome.

I met Christyna, the petite (and beautiful!) instructor from the Czech Republic. Lucky for me she was extremely patient! The learning curve is steeper than surfing or wakeboarding or something like that; there are a lot of moving parts and a lot of places where you can get frustrated.

The first day was great with kite practice, body dragging, etc. The afternoon was light, so they gave me a ‘wind-check’.

The next day the wind was on so i was ready! Got on the board, did a power-stroke and BOOM! got up and hauled down the shore! awesome.

the afternoon was spent learning to edge, go the weak side, etc. Christyna was super patient and positive and it was a great experience.

Super stoked on the sport thanks to KHK! Would recommend to others!

August 13, 2011 my husband, Michael and I decided we were going to be adventurous and try out hang gliding. We invited my sister, Carol and her husband Jack to join us. We showed up around 11:30 and was excited and a little nervous. The guys there were so polite and informative that they made it real easy to enjoy and to relax. My husband let me go first just in case he wanted to change his mind, but he followed right behind me. We both loved it and are ready to go back for the mile high next year. My sister, Carol was not planning on gliding but she got there and couldn’t walk away without trying it. We all enjoyed it tremendously, and all plan to go back next year. Thanks again for such a wonderful and exciting memory.

The first time we went Hang Gliding was July 24,2011. My brother wanted to go Hang gliding so we went and he did it. I wasn’t going to go for my life, or so I thought. I watched him getting ready and then take off and so on. Then when he got off I new I wanted to do it. So I did! And it was the best one of the funnest things you can do. We also had a very good instructor/pilot, luis. If we could do it agin and agin we would!! Thanks for the experiance.

Just wanted to thank the staff at KHK for a great time with my family. I was an instructor back in 1980-81 and loved every minute of it. I went on to fly sailplanes and many other aircraft, but I still love flying on the dunes. Before I left I vowed to myself that if I ever had a family, they would learn to fly here. 30 years later, my son and daughter took beginner lessons and had a great time! Tears of joy came to my face as I watched my daughter have a great flight with her instructor Paul.

Thanks to John Harris and his visionary dream
to make hang gliding accessible to everyone.

Last week while on vacation I had the opportunity to go hang gliding and it was an experience I will never forget! I have been going to Outer Banks almost every
year since I was two and each year I would see people flying off the dunes. I always wanted to try it and this year I finally did it! But i couldn’t decide between the lessons at the dunes or the tandem ride 2000ft in the air, so why not do both! Both were experiences I will never forget. It was such a rush to run on the dunes and all of the sudden you were flying! I loved that feeling! I actually landed on my feet all by myself on my fourth run! The lesson was such an amazing experience. All of the instructors were so nice and helpful. They were very enthusiastic and very will to help and answer any questions. But luckily my hang gliding experience did not end. The next morning I got to do the tandem hang gliding which was amazing! It really made me feel like I was a bird. Everyone keeps asking me weren’t you scared or nervous? And no I wasn’t, not at all. I was so excited! I never once felt nervous, I loved every minute I got to spend in the air and especially that high. It was so cool to be up that high and to feel the wind. Hang gliding was the most exciting thing I have every done! I told my parents in a way it a good thing I did it at the end of our trip because I would have wanted to do it again! That would have meant spending my own money and money I don’t have. I loved it so much I have been watching videos about it and learning even more! So now I am saving my money and already planning my next trip to the Outer Banks. Although this time my trip will consist of the beach and hang gliding! Since I can’t wait til next summer I might even come during the winter break. I can’t wait til the next time I get to fly. I wish it would be tomorrow! Thanks Kitty Hawk for the amazing experience and I hope to see you very soon. Next time I come I hope to get my Hang 1 Certification!!!

Our vacation with our US friends. From Germany coming, we arrived Richmond. Robert: “You should open your gift pack immediately…” I found a Skywatch air speed meter and a flyer about kiteboarding. WOW. Robert: “Hey, guy, we will have fun. Tomorrow we will go to Outer Banks for a week. Your 50th birthday should be unforgettable… ” and it was so awesome. Dead water, enough wind, sun … and a beautiful Sarah and Collin as our instructors. We, Robert, Chad and myself, we have had much fun – unforgettable. Thanks for this great days.

My boyfriend and I went parasailing on our vacation and had so much fun! It was the best view from 1000 feet up, and the guys on the boat were great. Thank you guys so much for an awesome memory, we will be back next time were in NC!!

We just returned from a week at Waves Village and took our 1st kite boarding lesson while in Waves. We are in OBX frequently and visited KHK last fall to investigate learning to kite board. It was recommended that we purchase a power kite, instructional video and get comfortable with the basics of the power kite, and then take our lessons – which we did. Definitely a worthwhile approach as our lesson was much more productive than it otherwise would have been.

I also wanted to give kudos to our instructor, Brian – he did an excellent job and has a great demeanor for an instructor – very calm approach and supportive of our efforts. He also seemed able to identify what needed to be corrected in technique and to provide constructive feedback on what to do differently.

We would look forward to our next visit and next set of lessons.

Flying a power kite, especially at Jockey’s Ridge, is one of my top 5 favorite things to do on a windy day. A harness is optional, but can help provide a necessary break if you’re flying on a 20-30mph day. Wind direction is especially important because you can use the rolling hills of JRSP to fly up, float down, or pendulum swing out, over, and back. Here’s one shot of me getting lifted up a hill at JRSP.

My husband and I love flying our Parafoil 5 kite…this picture is taken at the beach on Pea Island…we put the kite up, tie it to our beach chairs and watch it fly all day!