PHOTO BELOW: Here's my co-pilot Leon (from Sydney), on his birthday flight, at the controls as we're looking back at Bald Hill. This time I put the Ricoh GX100 camera on the interval timer (my preferred way to shoot) so we could focus on the flying. -what a concept...

ABOVE: Yash, age 15, getting ready for his first introductory hang gliding flight, again from Stanwell. He's a switched on young man, and is hungry to learn to fly. This quality has been the common denominator amongst all of my student fledglings, and is the characteristic that I mention when someone asks me "What does it take to fly?".

The next shot is taken at Hill 60, Wollongong, on Tuesday. Here's our student Jason, a Sydney Local, flying solo in the new training glider. Flying at the alternate site, Hill 60, was a bonus for the winter, as the northeast winds (required there) are less common in August.