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Soaring in Huntsville

By Jean Brandau, About.com

2 of 10

My First Experience in a Glider...

Somehow I released the tow rope and got this photo which shows the rope in the corner.

The good news was that the glider sits on the ground, so climbing in is a relatively easy thing to do--as long as you can bend, contort yourself and step over the side to get in. I was shocked when Rand insisted I sit in front! I had thought I would sit behind him and cover my eyes and bow my head. He thought I'd be able to enjoy the view better up front, though--so that's where I ended up, after he repeatedly assured me that, no, I didn't have to fly it--he would do that with the controls in the back seat, too.

I was in for my second shock, and almost hit panic mode, when he said that since I was sitting in front, it would be my responsibility to release the tow rope from the plane that was going to take us up when we reached the right height. Oh no, I was just an innocent journalist and now I was in charge of releasing the rope! I asked him if it would be okay if I just didn't do release it and we let the airplane pull us across the skies? He didn't go for that one...and after much explainatin for a really simple task, I somehow managed to get the rope released at the right time and snap a picture.

More Gliding on Next Page.

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