As you’ll see in the video clips below, some of us have our own way of getting down—and in this case—getting down eventually. My wife’s niece, who recently graduated Stanford University with honors, had the opportunity to take her first tandem hang glider flight with an experienced instructor. Typically, these flights are only of a 5-10 minute duration launching at 2,000 ft. over the landing zone. Tandem hang gliders are built for strength and stability, not efficient glide or sink rate. What’s more, this particular flying site (Monument Peak, Ed Levin County Park, overlooking Milpitas, California) is not normally known for its soaring opportunities, which is why it’s a good student, beginner, and tandem site. So I had decided that rather than hump my wing onto the H2 and go through all the hassle for what would most certainly be a short flight, even on my super-performance ATOS, I was just going to assist with Jennifer getting her tandem flight, roll some video, etc. But I had neglected to check the weather carefully. I had called the “wind talker” in the morning—an automated anemometer that sits atop the peak—and verified that the wind was not coming out of the east,...