Highland Aerosports' instructors introduce students to the joys of unpowered flight though hang gliding. Most often, they perform tandem flights, strapping themselves into a two-person glider right alongside beginners and helping them control the craft. Such a task requires plenty of confidence, but the teachers have a lot of experience on their sides. Co-owner Sunny Venesky has personally taught more than 13,000 hang-gliding lessons, earning the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association's Hang Gliding Instructor of the Year award in 2003. Adam Elchin, the other half of the ownership team, boasts numbers almost as impressive, having taught 8,000 hang-gliding lessons and earned commendation from the USHPA for service to the sport.

Over thousands of flights, the duo has learned that students master the skills at their own pace and height. They're very accommodating about both issues. In addition to introductory flights at 2,000 feet, 2,500 feet, 3,000 feet, and 1 mile, they offer ongoing lessons at more subtle increments, such as 2,499 feet or "just out of reach of that giant."