Virginia Hang Gliding
May - September, 9 am - 6 pm
Call ahead to schedule your flight
The Virginia Eastern Shore can seem unremarkable from the main highway, but from 5300 feet, its beauty is extraordinary. The wild barrier islands and mighty Atlantic, expansive farms and the world’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay, are all visible below. Virginia Hang Gliding appeals to those adventurous souls who long for a thrill and a bird’s eye view.
A specially designed light-sport airplane called a Dragonfly is used to tow a tandem glider to altitudes between 2000 and 5300 feet. The Dragonfly climbs at only 30 mph, so the powered ascent is relatively tranquil. Once at altitude, the plane releases the glider, and passenger and pilot are free to soar and float silently.
The geography of the Virginia Eastern Shore is nowhere more arresting than around the barrier islands and the associated intertidal lagoons and marshes, which teem with wildlife adapted to the myriad river-like waterways called “guts” that transect the marshlands. Seeing birds like Bald Eagles, Brown Pelicans, and Great Blue Herons flying beneath your glider provides a keen appreciation of what it means for these huge aerialists to ply the skies.
Get the scoop on more from Virginia’s Eastern Shore:
