Tim writes:

I've been flying something since I was 14 (sailplanes first,
followed by single engines, hang gliders, then finally multi-engine aircraft).
That's 45 years ago. Today, however, was the first day I got paid to fly
something. I finally got around to taking advantage of the long-standing offer
of two of the finest pilots I know, Jon Thompson and Jim Prahl, to check me out
in towing hang gliders.

A few years back, the FAA limited towing to pilots with at least a private
pilot's license, something very few ultralight pilots had bothered to get; it's
just a lot of complication that didn't enhance their ultralight experience. When
the edict came down from the FAA, however, that made me a fairly rare commodity
among hang glider pilots; someone who flew and knew hang gliders who could
legally become a tow pilot.

I've hemmed and hawed about getting the rating for various reasons. Even back
when I was 16, my sailplane club wanted me to learn to tow sailplanes. Finally,
however, it just seemed I needed to make a better contribution to the flying
community as a whole and Quest Air Hang Gliding in particular. A minor benefit
is the minor income it will provide. A major benefit is the feeling that,
finally, I'm doing a better job of living up to my potential.

My final tow this morning was a mile-high tow, where the tandem flight (with Don
Guynn as the instructor with a visiting client in the second harness) doesn't
release until we reach 5280 feet. That's a long tow (2500 feet is normal), and
it's not so particularly warm up there at even this time of year in Florida.
Coincidentally, Jim was doing another mile-high tow and took the last two photos
from his plane while he towed someone else. Dolores took the photos on the
ground.

Life is good when you've got friends like these and opportunities like this
handed to you for merely the asking...even if it did take a little prodding.