HGFA Skysailor Magazine

SKY SAILOR 13 September | October 2018 After some small travel hiccups of a seven-hour flight delay, no airport shuttle and our first night’s hotel cancellation, we were all sleep deprived, uncomfortable and not looking forward to our five- hour drive to Guyuan. This quickly changed when we were met by three cars and our friends and hosts, Longfei, Bin and FuYu, from the Wozaifei Hang Gliding Club. The cars were quickly loaded with luggage and equipment, our bellies loaded with dumplings and we were on the road. Blessed by unusual clear Beijing skies, we were awed by the surrounding mountains and unending towering building sites. The drive north to Guyuan passed through the Great Wall and continually changing landscapes until we reached our destination at Wozaifei HG Club on the high plains bordering Inner Mongolia. The scenery of the drive had us all eagerly anticipating our first flights on arrival. But first, time to get settled and welcomed by the entire club and Chinese competitors with an amazing BBQ feast of lamb on a spit, Guyuan style, removing the meat piece by piece with our fingers. We quickly learnt to choose carefully so as not to burn ourselves in the process. During this first night we quickly recognised the hospitality these pilots bestowed upon us during our entire trip. Despite our language barriers, the smiles and laughter were shared and extensive. The next day, we were greeted with a poor forecast but still the same smiles and enthusiasm we had experienced the previous night. We chose not to set a task, but to look for some possible free flying. We quickly assembled the gliders from their short packed shipping boxes, gliders Moyes Delta Gliders Pty Ltd Unit 4/5 Clerke Place Kurnell NSW 2231 Australia +61 (0)2 9668 8686 moyes@moyes.com.au www.moyes.com.au Turn your Dreams into Reality... Fly Moyes. Tiny house accommodation on site Morning theory lessons Getting ready to launch Enjoying sunset on the mezzanine Steve Docherty’s outlanding – meeting local villagers