William Dickey
I took my first flights with instruction from Mike Briganti at Bay Area Hang Gliding in the early months of 2021 at Ed Levin Park in Milpitas CA. With almost weekly classes we were able to progress fairly quickly, and Mike certified me for my ‘Hang 1’ on 3/29/21, and then ‘Hang 2’ on 5/6/21. From there, with the help of multiple experienced pilots, local Facebook, Telegram and Whatsapp groups, and flying at different sites I have been able to build up experience as an H3. Hat Creek brought my second flight over 10 minutes, which ended up being a smooth 75 minute flight with 20 other paragliders and hang gliders in evening ‘glass off’ conditions. From there, I flew Hat Creek, Lake McClure, Tres Pinos (winching), Indian Valley, Fort Funston, Coloma (private site) and McClellan in Nevada. These sites are vastly different from each other and have different positive aspects. I am still a Hang 3, and fly whenever conditions and time permit.