He first threw himself off a hill after reading "How to Hang Glide for beginners' and although there were a few hairy moments with a gumtree, Cowra's Guy Hubbard is currently soaring through the ranks at the 2014 Australian National Hang Gliding Championships in Forbes.
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The Championships, now in its 10th year, kicked off last Saturday and will finish up tomorrow after eight days (weather permitted) of flying.
Sixty-two pilots from 15 different countries have been competing in the event, with Mr Hubbard landing third place on New Year's Eve, before coming in at 9th place yesterday and fifth out of the Australian pilots.
The pilots have seen the sights and while Trangie and Wellington enjoyed the drop-ins, the residents of Woodstock were particularly excited when 35 pilots landed near the silos last week.
Mr Hubbard has been involved in the sport since 1987, competing in every Australian National Hang Gliding Championships in Forbes since the beginning and while he's passionate about the sport, the decision to take it up came about in a fairly casual way.
"I was doing an apprenticeship with Teddy Kibbler and we were building a house for Fred Fahey and he had this long thing in a bag in the garage," he said.
"I said to him 'What's that?' and he said 'it's the hang glider' and I asked him if he wanted to sell it and he said 'build me a shed for the pool pump and you can have it.'"
After learning the ropes from the the all-important 'How to' manual, Mr Hubbard said there was no stopping him.
"I went just out behind caravan city, went a third of the way up the hill and just took off," he said.
"The second time I went further up and then I found myself heading straight towards a gumtree before the book kicked in and I turned.
"I just couldn't find a hill big enough after that."
Organiser for the Australian National Hang Gliding Championships, Vicki Cain has been involved with the event since its beginnings and said it has been running smoothly, with all pilots enjoying the event.
"It's really quite delightful where they can end up- last year we had some land in Hay, the wind just took them," she said.
"I guess that's what happens when there's basically a plastic tent holding you up," she laughed.
While he enjoys the competitions, Mr Hubbard said the thrill of hang gliding in general is unmatched.
"You're just flying like the wedge tail eagle and when you're cruising at 8000 or 9000 feet above the countryside, no-one knows," he said.
"It's the best kept secret in the world."
