I was asked by Erica Newhall to be the videographer for her television program, "Discover New Hampshire" (DNH). Erica's an actress with the Screen Actor's Guild who aspires to host her own program. It's been amazing to see how much we've accomplished both personally and production-ally. I've certainly done things that I never expected to be doing. 3 "pilot" (if you will) episodes are being shot with varying themes, which I won't exactly get into until they air (we've gotta have A FEW surprises!) But I WILL mention that one of the episodes will be on thrilling adventures or activities that anyone who visits N.H. can do! One of these is hang gliding at the Morningside Flight Park. Cool, right!? There's just one problem....I HATE HEIGHTS! But I didn't think it was going to be an issue...Erica was going up in a glider that I outfitted with cameras and I would film her from the ground. The End...............or so I thought. Someone present made the comment that I should go up in the ultralite that tows the glider and film Erica with fly-bys, circling, etc. AH HA HA HA HA HA HA WHAT!!!!!????? An ultralite, if you don't know is basically a flying lawnmower. Sounds safe right? Exactly. At the same time,....how do you say no??? It'll clearly make the show, with AMAZING FOOTAGE! DAMN IT!!! The pilot, having been told of my dilemma, thought that it would be in everyone's best interest to take me up on a practice flight to make sure I didn't lose my shit. The practice flight went fine! I can do this! We began to prep Erica and the pilot explained to her that we would take her up to 2,500 feet. "Is that where we just were?" I asked,...hoping I had already experienced our destination height. "No" he responded, "That was 500 feet." (GULP!!!!) The expression on my face said it all. "There's really no difference between 500 feet and 2,500 feet," he said. "NO THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE!" Kurt's brain responded. He told me that "the higher we are, the safer we are." "If the engine gives out at 100 feet, we're both dead....but if the engine gives out at 2,500 feet, we have time to think, options to pick, and our choice of landing sights to glide to." "Has an engine ever given out!?" I timidly asked. "Oh sure" he said, and he climbed aboard. AWESOME! The good news is, I was actually flying with one of the number 1 ultralite pilots in the world! So there's comfort in that! And Erica, was actually flying with the #1 hang gliding instructor in the nation. I was nervous, but I was pretty sure we were gonna be o.k. Whether you sit in the back or the front of the ultralite, you both have the same controls. The pilot cautioned me not to touch anything, but the ultralite is so confined that seems impossible not to. The phallic stick to steer the plane was between my legs. As the pilot controlled the plane behind me, my controls ALSO moved. Very bizarre. Men defend their actions by claiming that cocks have minds of their own, but that was just visually ridiculous! At any rate, I clearly survived and I CAN'T WAIT for people to see the footage! Also, whether you're afraid of heights or not, I would definitely suggest trying the ultralite, if not hang gliding just once. It's just one of those things and one of those experiences that you just have to do! OH! and bring layers....it's friggin' cold up there!
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