Wallaby Ranch

I'd planned on an afternoon visiting with my friends at Florida's Wallaby Ranch and wound up spending a week there. 

The weather wasn't the best, and I was off doing skydiving stuff or visiting friends on most days, but on the last day I was at the Ranch I had a great flight on a Wills Wing Falcon 3 170. Bob the Dragonfly pilot tolerated my constant yo-yoing on tow and waved  me off in smooth lift that went all the way to cloudbase. It had been many years since I'd flown a hang glider, and when I wafted into the white room, it felt just like coming home. Despite my recent infatuation with ram air wings, hang gliding is still my absolute favorite way to fly - there's just nothing better. 

 

There is never a shortage of amazing flying machines at the Ranch. In the powered category, the undisputed coolest is the Sea Max,  a Light Sport Amphibious plane that Malcolm and Carlos are importing from Brazil.

The Sea Max is the perfect plane for Florida's lakes and grass strips. Malcolm is the complete master of it on the water, driving it around like it some kind of hot ski boat. The concept and execution of this aircraft is one of the cleanest I've ever seen.