15860082:Cobb Life OCT 2011 dummied to trim size
9/14/2011
4:13 PM
Page 33
BY MICHAEL J. PALLERINO PHOTOGRAPHY BY NATHAN SELF AND COURTESY OF MARIO AND ALICIA ANDREOU
Marietta hang gliders revel in the realm where eagles dare Their language is poetic in a way they understand. “Be the bird.” “Live free.” “Soar high.” “Go far.” Ask those who have taken flight on the wings of a hang glider and they will talk of glorious sunsets and what it feels like to have the ground drop away at your feet as you kick toward the heavens. They are a different breed; these riders in the sky. They are your neighbors, friends of friends and that quiet guy at work who lives for the weekends. They talk about what it feels like to experience the world in a different way – with the earth hundreds of feet below as you soar through the air and carve out turns like a bird. It is a fraternity of adventurers and enthusiasts who live to let it all go. Marietta residents Mario Andreou, a regional manager for Meggitt Aircraft
Braking Systems, and his wife, Alicia Derin Andreou, associate head of school for the Trinity School, are regulars at Lookout Mountain Flight Park in Rising Fawn, Ga., the largest hang gliding school in the country. As a child, Mario dreamed of stretching his arms out, taking a few steps and flying through the air. After a celebrating a friend’s birthday with a tandem hang gliding flight a few years ago, the couple was hooked. Before long, they signed up for lessons. “The hang gliding fraternity is a very cool group of people who look after each other,” Mario says. “The love of free flight creates a strong bond within this community.” To become a pilot, your regimen typically takes several months of weekend training on smaller hills before qualifying for a certificate that enables