Painter, Virginia is home to one of the nation’s most incredible hang gliding adventures complete with unimpeded eye candy
By Eric J. Wallace / Photos courtesy of Virginia Hang Gliding
Imagine strapping yourself into a tandem harness suspended below the upper frame of what looks to be a massive kite on wheels, white-knuckling a pair of wideset handles to brace yourself as a tiny, one-seat ultralight plane tows you down a grassy runway until it reaches a speed of about 45 mph and lifts into the air.
You climb 500 feet per minute into crystalline blue sky, soaring over big stands of piney maritime forest, scenic U.S. 13, and checkerboard plots of homes, fields and pastures. Dense marshes bisected by winding tidal creeks and inlets appear to the east.
Then there’s the historic Eastern Shore fishing villages of Wachapreague and Quinby; a maze of surrounding bays; white-beached wild barrier islands beset by the frothy crash of waves; sunlight glimmering across the dark and undulate Atlantic.
The plane releases the towline just below a mile high and you glide through a quiet rush of wind as haunting at it is exhilarating. Unimpeded eye candy explodes for upward of 50 miles in every direction as you begin a timeless, 30-minute descent back to terra firma.
This is what it’s like to take a premium Eastern Shore aerial tour with Virginia Hang Gliding. Located about midway along the peninsula in Painter, it’s one of just five facilities in the eastern U.S. that offer mile-high tandem aerotow experiences—and the only one that brings views of the longest chain of undeveloped barrier islands in the U.S.
“To me, it’s the ultimate rush: The wind is in your face and you’re soaring like a bird,” says owner and United States Hang Gliding Association certified master pilot, Don Guynn, 53. There are no roads, lanes, traffic lights, motorists or rumbling engines to contend with.
It’s like a childhood fantasy come true; the freedom is intoxicating. Gazing down at the world through nothing but goggles from such dizzying heights brings “this enormous sense of perspective. It’s meditative, beautiful and joyous all at once.”
How did Guynn come to open one of the planet’s most unique hang-gliding operations on the Eastern Shore of Virginia?
It started as a kid in Galax when he and a neighbor watched a National Geographic program about hang gliding at age 15. “I was mesmerized,” says Guynn. “But my family was so poor we didn’t have an indoor bathroom, so the thought of me ever having enough money to get one felt ridiculous.”
Still, the idea stuck with him. And falling into a job helping a family friend dismantle a defunct ski resort two years later brought the funds to bring his dream to life. Guynn bought a beat-up old rig from a truck driver and sought to teach himself to fly on local hills.
The interest quickly spiraled into obsession and carried him to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to train with a master pilot and become a certified instructor. He worked at the Kitty Hawk Kites hang gliding school for a while, then set out for Georgia’s famed Lookout Mountain Flight Park to learn more.
Additional certifications eventually led to work at a top learning center in southern Florida in the early alts, where he specialized in leading a top-tier aerotow package that ferried patrons to soaring heights with views of the keys.
“Basically, I was an addict,” laughs Guynn. “My life was totally structured around flying and I spent every moment I possibly could in the air.”
A partnership offer at a fledgling hang-gliding school near Accomack County Airport brought Guynn to the Eastern Shore in 2012. He visited, fell in love with what he calls the area’s “insane natural beauty,” unparallelled bird populations and mild weather patterns that were perfect for high-altitude aerial stunts.
The idea of using his decades of experience to showcase the oft misunderstood sport that had become his raison d’être was enthralling.
“Places that offer hang gliding opportunities are few and far between to begin with, and those that do exist typically launch beginner and intermediate learners off dunes or small hills,” explains Guynn.
Flight time averages around 10 seconds. Return climbs—especially up sand dunes — can be physically intensive and time-consuming. That makes it tough to build skills and can leave a negative or lackluster impression.
Guynn’s tandem tours are the stuff of legend and often feature playful forays through puffy cumulous clouds, rollercoaster-esque aerobatic maneuvers, or glides with groups of curious seabirds.
“A lot of people go up for the first time and describe it as life-changing,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever had a customer that didn’t walk away grinning ear to ear, and many of them come back time and again, often with friends and family in tow.”
Virginia Hang Gliding also offers various certification classes for those interested in taking up the sport on their own, as well as towing services for experienced fliers. Guynn relocated the business to a 25-acre farm property with a smooth, private runway in 2014 and bought out his business partner in 2018. He estimates he’s served a couple thousand happy customers since the company was founded.
“This is my passion,” says Guynn. “I wake up every day feeling blessed to be able to work at a job I love and to be fortunate enough to share this amazing sport with others and help them experience one of the most beautiful places on the planet in a brand-new way.”
Learn more at virginiahanggliding.com.
Eric J. Wallace
Eric J. Wallace is an award-winning lifestyle journalist based in Staunton who has contributed to WIRED, Outside, Reader’s Digest, Atlas Obscura, Best American Food Writing, All About Beer and more.
