Hang-gliding soars as more competitors leap into the sport

Source : ABC NEWS

It has been 51 years since Bruce Atkinson taught himself to fly by reading a textbook and jumping off a hill, equipped with little knowledge but a lot of hope.

He has hardly been able to keep his feet on the ground since.  

“There were no instructors in those days, unlike today where there’s schools, so unfortunately I had to learn myself out of a textbook,” he said.

“First flight was a crash, but back to the textbook and off I’d go again.” 

Sports Aviation Federation of Australia has around  470 licensed hang-gliding members, so Mr Atkinson knows he is part of a small but tight-knit sports community. 

There are signs it is also undergoing a quiet resurgence. 

This year’s Corryong Cup, held in Victoria’s north east, quickly filled its 75-pilot capacity, while only five years ago it struggled to draw in a third of that number. 

Veteran pilots like Mr Atkinson are looking to younger pilots that took part in this year’s High Country event to help drive the sport’s future. 

“It will be a growing sport thanks to those young ones,” he said. 

“The future is still bright for hang-gliding.” 

Soaring future stars

Jakota Cummings is one of those young competitors forging a future for the sport. 

The 21-year-old from Sydney proved himself a rising star at this year’s Corryong Cup.

His passion began watching his father’s friends soaring amongst these same mountains while on childhood summer holidays.

“It’s a very big mental game,” he said.

“Once you sort of understand how it works and the basics and the huge amount of safety around it and precautions that we take when we are flying, it is actually quite a safe sport.”

He wants to see more young people taking part. 

“I feel like if more young people tried it they would realise how amazing it is and they would love it just as much as I do,” he said. 

It is not just young people looking to move in on the male-dominated sport, with women also making their mark on the Australian scene. 

Nicole Forrester took up the sport three years ago after a long fascination with hang-gliding, and found her arrival was warmly welcomed. 

“The hang-gliding community is awesome, everyone is so encouraging and supportive and always there to lend a hand,” she said. 

Australia’s hot summer skies and promising new talent also draws in pilots from across the world to test themselves.

Rich Reinaur travelled from the US to launch himself from Mount Elliot and take part in the Corryong Cup competition for the second time. 

He said it was worth the long journey from New Mexico. 

“It’s beautiful — the mountains and the scenery, and there’s plenty of nice places to land,” he said.

But for all its thrills, it can be a tough sport to break into. 

There are hours of official training and licensing requirements, limited flying schools, travel, and large costs associated with equipment and maintenance. 

Mr Reinaur said hang-gliding was also struggling to gain fresh blood in his home country due to rising insurance costs.

“The cost of doing competitions has just become too high for foreign pilots to come to the US unfortunately,” he said.

The region around Corryong is ripe for hang-gliding, producing strong thermals from the mountains and offering plenty of paddock space for landings. 

Corryong Cup competition director Phillip Campbell said the sport received a lot of support from the local community. 

“The townsfolk are very supportive of us and they love what we bring to the town,” he said.