Is your helmet on tight? Is your harness buckled?
Are you feeling courageous? Well then, let's fly!
Today Josh and Anne are taking us on an adventure through the skies.
With no motor, no parachute, and no hot air balloon, they are going flying.
How? With hang gliders!
Josh and Anne are joining us today in Queenstown, New Zealand, a city whose people are known for having fun in the great outdoors.
"I have always wanted to fly, and I think hang gliding sounds like fun.
Do you want to come?" says Josh.
"It sounds exciting, but I'm a little nervous about it.
Then again, it's good to try new things . . . so let's go!" says Anne.
Hang gliding is actually very easy.
Josh will fly with a championship glider named Tom.
Tom is great at doing stunts and flying fast.
Anne will fly with a glide instructor named Rick, who is good at teaching beginners.
With the hang gliders packed on the roof of the van, everyone drives to the top of the mountain that overlooks Queenstown.
It takes the instructors only twenty minutes to assemble poles and pieces into a complete glider.
Josh and Anne seem pretty impressed.
Rick calls Anne over for her first lesson on flying.
"Okay, first, you need a helmet that fits your head well.
How does this one work?"
"It feels comfortable and nice and hard," says Anne.
Then Rick explains the next piece of equipment.
"Great. Next you need a harness. This one should fit you.
It looks like a sleeping bag, but it is very strong.
It will hook you to the glider tightly so you can't fall out."
"I'd better not fall out!"
While Rick and Anne get her harness fitted, Tom gets Josh ready for their jump.
"Cheers, Josh. When we're hooked up to the glider, I'll ask if you're ready.
If you feel nervous and you're not ready, say 'Wait.'
But, if you feel ready, say 'Ready.' Got it?"
"Excellent! I'm ready to fly already! Let's go!" says Josh.
"In just a minute, we'll start back here, away from the edge.
When you say ready, I'll count one, two, three. At one, we start running.
At two, we run harder. At three, we throw ourselves off the cliff."
"I throw myself off the cliff?" Josh is worried.
"Don't worry," explains Tom. "Your wings will be attached.
It's important that you run faster and faster as I count from one to three.
When we run fast off the edge, it gives our glider momentum and pushes us out.
But if we go slowly, we'll fall straight down. Got it?"
"I got it. No worries."
Running in a harness is more difficult than it looks.
It's like running with a sleeping bag around your legs.
While Josh practices running, Rick teaches Anne how to steer.
"Turning the glider is really simple, Anne.
There is a triangular bar in front that is attached to the top of the glider.
If we want to go left, we push the bar to the right.
If we want to go up, we push the bar forward.
And pulling the bar towards us sends us down. But I don't recommend that."
"I think I'll let you do the steering, thanks," says Anne.
Once everyone has practiced, it's time to get strapped into the gliders.
Anne reminds herself it's good to try new things, and Josh reminds himself of the one-two-three. Josh and Tom go first.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
"One . . . two . . . three . . ."
And they're off! Anne and Rick are up next, and soon they are flying right above Josh and Tom.
While Josh and Tom are diving and flying sideways, Anne and Rick take in the view.
Hang gliding is a nature-friendly sport because there is no noise and no pollution.
Both gliders circle the fields below. And it's a perfect landing!
"That was the most beautiful flight I could have imagined!
It was so peaceful, I actually felt natural up there!" says Anne.
Josh agrees, but with a different sort of enthusiasm.
"Woo-hoo! That was amazing!
We flew sideways and did all sorts of dives and turns.
It was absolutely awesome. Wow! I can't wait to do that again."
This concludes another short but thrilling adventure with Josh and Anne.
Who knows where their next adventure may take us! Bye!