Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to David Hanning. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, David thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
I know that I have helped contribute to a long lasting legacy of paragliding in the USA and in particular here in the South Eastern Tennessee mountains outside of Chattanooga. Already the legacy of free flight is strong in the region thru Hang Gliding’s long association with the region. My influence has been to revitalize the sports of un-powered ultralight flight by being present in this remote location offering logistical support to the existing pilot community & building a larger community of paraglider pilots thru my school, www.flying.camp. Following in the footsteps of legends like, Rick Jacob & Luis Rosenjker I built a school where we specialize in training pilots for “mountain foot launch unpowered cross country paragliding”. We are building the racers of tomorrow here in TN in the World Class arena of the Sequatchie Valley. A special combination of weather and topography have created a “Magic Valley” for flying paragliders and after a decade of generating pilots we are proud to boast of our alumni who continue to claim podium spots in the world’ best races. I believe our annual competition will be a continuing force is the long legacy of racing paraglider. As I continue to support the growth and development of the sport and community I know my contributions to paragliding will be my legacy. I know I’ll be remember for becoming a driving force in creating paragliding opportunities here in the SE USA. What the think and say now is what they will continue with after I am gone. What matters is that paragliding in the MAGIC VALEY continues to provide opportunities for people to enjoy a life worth living
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
how you got into your industry / business / discipline / craft I am an athlete who chased adventures around the world with a focus on climbing, skiing and paragliding. Wilderness and wildness were more attractive to me as a young man from the midwest. From my adventurous life I became connected within the outdoor sports industries, working as a product sales representative, sponsored athlete & professional guide. My younger years are rooted in climbing & alpinism, big mountains, expeditions, exploration. I came to be focused in aviation, specifically paragliding, at 29 in Utah when i was persuaded to take a tandem flight, a gift from my boss who was learning to fly. The next couple of decades would be spent chasing flying experiences in the same manner that I had chased climbing dreams; I was all in and going deep. I was fortunate to be in the epicenter of paragliding in the USA in the early days of the sport, where i found employment teaching and giving tandem rides and great mentors. I was one of the crew that was consistently flying above the biggest mountains seeking the longest flights or racing in the best locations around the world. While bouncing in and out of the USA and Nepal I met my wife Elena where we were both working as tandem pilots giving rides to trekking tourists. It was a special time as a tandem pilot to be in Nepal and living the dream. In that same era I was involved several times in the most elite racing event in paragliding, the RedBull Xalps. Great friendships were forged and solid business relationships grew. My time spent chasing adventures & teaching paragliding to others made it easy for me when I landed in TN in 2013 to open my own paragliding school and tandem business with a retail equipment shop. The past decade we have grown that business to become owners of the land we fly from and enjoy being one of the great influences in the development of paragliding in SouthEastern USA. We can n0w boast of a large local community that regularly gathers to fly the winds and clouds and a number of graduate alumni who regularly make headlines and take podium spots on the racing circuit.
what type of products/services/creative works you provide
We provide certification courses for paraglider pilots as well as Tandem paragliding flights to anyone & equipment retail sales of wings, harnesses, reserves…any equipment for paragliding.
what problems you solve for your clients
I solve access issue. Access to land to fly from, Access to equipment to fly, tours to join for flying holidays…we provide access to the sky. I provide the training and educational certifications that enable access to other sites and events within our industry.
what you think sets you apart from others.
We are special because we provide a better education than the others. One reason we can do this is access to land to fly from. As owners of the launches we enable the ability to teach and train in world class flying location. Such access is rare and often complicated. These land assets enable us to provide a proper education and as such we are more than just a training hill.
What are you most proud of
I am very proud to look back on my life and see how my choices to participate in paragliding have influenced and encourage others to be and do their best. The impact I have had as a result of trying to continue chasing my own paragliding dreams as I raised a new family in a new location that lacked an established paragliding community and culture has been an amazingly powerful experience for my own self. The growth is real and a positive for everyone, especially the community and the sport in this region of the world. All the challenges of supporting an elite adventure sport career path have generate ten fold the reward.
what are the main things you want potential clients/followers/fans to know about you/your brand/your work/ etc.
The main thing about us is the quality of the experience and education that we provide to our clients. We have an old school approach to honesty and integrity that ensure our clients goals & needs are meet in the best way.
Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?
as an action sport option in the recreational tourism industry in is critical to have excellent staff knowledgable in the activity and sport. Allowing them to perform without strict oversight can be challenging, but enables them to add their unique perspective and voice to the mix making a more authentic and natural experience.This often yields the biggest tips and best client experiences and clearly make the team happier when they feel like you trust them to do a good job without needing to be there directing them. Giving the team the reigns can be scary, but once you start working on their level with them instead of them working for you, you will gain better employee attitudes and stronger loyalty
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
As the new guy on the block opening a paragliding school in what has historically been a hang gliding only area proved challenging because of long lasting loyalties and dedicated community members resistance to change along with a culture war between the two different aircraft types. The new sport of paragliding invading their airspace was upsetting to the existing established community & commercial operations here in the SouthEast. Such a small community can create significant cliques and fraternal order remains a strong mafia like influence inside the Organization that represents the two sports nationally. A civil war of sorts exists between the two aircraft types as one is fading away into history and the other is leaping forward into the spot light and the old leadership is reluctant to hand off the torch. Ultimately my success in opening a paragliding school triggered significant resistance in the local old guardians, who then manipulated and crafted lies to block growth and professional organizational access. A dedicated team of bitter individuals remain committed to a grind to wear my business down to nothing that has included tainting my reputation and a consistent program of harassment. Their agenda is simply to force me and my business out as they represent the non commercial selfish interests of their neighborhood, of which, ironically, I am a land owning member of. As they have worked tirelessly to cause harm to my business I have succeeded by focusing on my family and friends and the reason I choose to open a paragliding school. By Creating community thru my school and supporting this group of people as they engage in flight here in Tennessee at this world class flying location I am reminded daily of how my efforts to be me and have my life my way influences those around me to do the same. By sharing what I know and love & following my dreams to make a better life thru paragliding I know I have changed people and the sports culture in the SE. One of those markers of success in small business that we have to recognize, is that when you are doing it right, your competition isnt going to be happy and they aren’t going to take it sitting down, especially if your new business is impacting their bottom line. It is not fun to weather the storm and wait out their grind. It even takes away from the fun of being a small business owner, but if you got into small business for fun, then you might have a problem. It is a lot of work to remain successful once you have proven a product and grown a market. They will come to get their slice of the pie you create. Be ready to share knowing that there really is enough for everyone to go around if you have done your work right. Turf wars are nothing new in the world of business. Endurance is the key. look the other way and keep producing the best you can…you will make it thru. We all do, eventually.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.flying.camp
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flying.camp.paragliding/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TN.flying.camp.paragliding/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Flying_Camp
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChZNylMhaXmE0lcoB-KiPwA
Image Credits
David Hanning