Specked Out

Only a week left until Christmas. Oy, I hope you’ve taken care of all your shopping because it’s a madhouse out there. If, however, you're still looking for a great gift for the special hang gliding/flight fanatic in your life, check out Liftworx. These little hand-launched gliders are really cool. Ultra lightweight, amazing performance, and tons of fun to fly when you're waiting around on launch for the conditions to improve. Be sure to check out the video of the Swyft being hand launched. The height to which you can launch these little gliders is truly amazing.
The picture is of me doing some light-air ridge soaring at Gasworks Park in Seattle. One of the nice things about these R/C gliders is that you don't need a lot of room to fly them. Most any parking lot, city park, or backyard will do. I've thermaled this one up so high here that the thermal turns had to be done purely by muscle memory since it was so far away I had no visual cues. It was merely a speck in the sky.