How to Fly - Takeoff and Landing

For an introduction/explanation regarding How to Fly, click here . Below, a range of dream flyers describe their takeoff and landing strategies.

The Fence Flip

I always fly in places that I know. The first time I flew I was fooling around, running as high as I could up the fence on the side of my back yard. We'd do that sometimes for fun, just start running across the yard and then keep going and try to run as high as we could up the fence.

This time I just kept going. I ran all the way up the fence and straight up into the air and then flew through the air all the way across the yard and landed on the other side, right on my feet. It was neat.   - Chris Van Horn, Age 21, Guitar Player

Kick Start

I have bad, evil people surrounding my feet, so I need to fly to escape. I flap my arms and kick my feet and once I rise to a level where they can almost catch me, I soar above them. And I dip sometimes, and I can feel my stomach dropping.

I've had flying dreams ever since I was a little girl.   
- Amanda Ducat, Age 17, High School Senior

Back Flip

I do a back flip when I start. I go up and around, and then I just take right off flying. I do the same thing when I land. I come in low and do a back flip and land on my feet.  - Tim Sage, 9 Years Old, Third Grader

Jumping for Joy

The first time I flew, I came home from school and saw a trunk outside our door that had the name of that guy in the Partridge Family on it. I was so happy I started jumping for joy out in this big circle of grass. Each time I jumped higher and higher until I was flying! I sort of levitated and floated when I flew. 

I stopped flying for a while and then had to retrain myself by concentrating on it before I went to sleep. Now I fly horizontally, but it's not as much fun. It's more forced, and I don't get very high off the ground. That first time was the best.  - Cathy Allen, Age 41, Symphony Cellist

Escalation

I learned how to fly on an escalator. I was going down and realized I could somehow elevate myself right up. This was in a department store. That's the critical thing—I always did like department stores.

I feel like I taught myself how to fly. Sometimes I do it for effect. Usually there's a small group of people around who start looking at me. They're all amazed: "Look at that will you!" I don't want to go down and talk to them afterwards. I usually look for a place to land that's not near those people so I can make a quick get away.  - Chris Carroll, 51 Years Old, Artist


Up next:  Aerobatic Styles