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The Dune Flying Spectacular Finding some folly at Kitty Hawk by Sara Weaver
: As a hang glider pilot who frequents FAI Category 2 hang gliding competitions, I find it’s such a joy to return to the dune competition of the Kitty Hawk Kites Hang Gliding Spectacular. In 2021, the event (which is the world’s longest-running hang gliding competition) attracted pilots from as far away as New York and Salt Lake City to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where the Wright brothers first soared. Without a shadow of a doubt, the Spectacular is unique. It is beyond fun, and it’s very different from your average competition.
Structure One of the major differences between an FAI competition and a dune competition is the structure. In an FAI sanctioned event, pilots earn points by how fast they can complete a predetermined cross-country course or how far they’ve made it around said course. On the dunes, everything changes. There’s no cross-country course, only a few cones in the sand that you must fly to the left or right of, some bowling pins at the bottom that you need to knock over, a ring suspended above the landing area that you need to retrieve, and a target (constructed from pool noodles) where your must land. Let me explain. There are quite a few ways to earn points or awards during a dune competition, where the launch is only about 40 feet above the landing area. The first way is to launch before the “off-by” line, to fly around the correct side of the cones along the course (usually you only have enough height for one or two small turns), and to land as close to the pool noodle bullseye as possible. If you check all of those boxes, you earn a maximum score of 50 points. If you don’t do any of those things, but you land safely nonetheless, you’re rewarded with a minimum score of 5 points. For 2021, competitors were able to earn points for nine rounds on the dunes. Pilots can earn points through some other rewarded categories during the dune competition. The
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