Take to the sky with Appalachian Airsports

LENOIR — Enjoy beautiful scenery and learn all about the joys of flight with Appalachian Airsports, a Lenoir-based hang gliding school.

Willie Vaughn opened Appalachian Airsports in September 2021 with the help of his wife, Hannah Burgess, also the company’s creative director, and Zach Decker, managing partner. Vaughn and Burgess moved to Lenoir in 2017 to each pursue their dream jobs: Burgess became a full-time, professional mermaid, and Vaughn taught hang gliding with Thermal Valley Hang Gliding, located at 4085 Old Amherst Rd., Lenoir.

Vaughn said he grew up around aviation, as both his parents were hang gliders in the 1980s. After high school, he became a hang gliding instructor in Outer Banks and never looked back.

He said one moment, in particular, has always stuck with him: flying tandem with his mom in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Click here for full article