You look around, you see some birds, you join them. You're flying through the air, looking for updrafts. Sturtevant, an elementary school teacher in North Bend, Washington, competed in this year's Women's World Hang Gliding Championships in Australia as part of a six-member U.S. team. About fifty pilots from all over the globe participated. The wind carries the pilot, wings and all, through the air.
Flight is controlled by shifting one's body weight.
In competition, participants are judged both on getting to an appointed goal and the speed with which they get there . Hey, I'd like to try sky diving. But then a friend mentioned hang gliding, so I tried that instead. And I was addicted. Sturtevant's husband, George, also hang glides, but not competitively.