Hang Glider over Afton Mountain

[silverwings]

This was sent to me by "Brenda Tekin" <bt8x@virginia.edu> asking for help trying to locate who was flying in that area:
Good afternoon.
I’m on a quest to hopefully locate the individual who was hang gliding over Afton Mountain last weekend, either Saturday or Sunday.

I co-ordinate the Rockfish Gap Hawk Watch conducted each fall (mid-August through mid-November) on the grounds of The Inn at Afton that overlooks I-64 and the parkway.

I managed to capture a few decent images using a 500mm lens mounted on a Canon DSLR as the glider came in, approaching from the north and circled directly overhead, and I would love to send the individual some of the shots. The individual acknowledged our presence by waving down to us.

Any assistance in trying to locate this individual would be appreciated.

I have extremely limited knowledge on hang gliding. The individual was tucked inside a slim-looking bag likened to a sleeping bag. Now, I felt there was an onboard motor but my companions did not think so. The reason I believe a motor was used is based on flight pattern the amount of time the glider was airborne. (I have not zoomed in the images to determine if a motor can be detected.) The glider was observed to the east of Afton Mountain, circling out over Nelson Co. bordering along Albemarle. It traveled northward, behind Calf Mountain, disappearing below the far ridge positioned between Afton and the town of Crozet. From there it gained altitude, circling a considerable amount of time before gliding westward over I-64 to top of Afton Mountain. After circling overhead it then flew back north. The lower wind speed at our altitude had been measured between 5-9km/h at most out of the S to SE.

I’m hoping the individual can be located as I’m sure they would enjoy the images.
Brenda Tekin

[John Harper]

It was Nelson Lewis

[John Harper]

Here is his e-mail address. nplewis@juno.com