{"id":8,"date":"2026-08-17T16:43:45","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T16:43:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthesebanks-benjegg.apps.cloudapps.unc.edu\/?p=8"},"modified":"2026-08-17T16:50:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T16:50:32","slug":"skybound","status":"publish","type":"otb_story","link":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/?otb_story=skybound","title":{"rendered":"Skybound"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The hang gliding spectacular started as a \u201cfly-in\u201d to share information among the Outer Banks hang gliding community, but has become more than just a competition \u2014 it&#039;s a reunion for the Vaughn family.<\/p>\n<p>Kitty Hawk native Billy Vaughn, co-manager of the Kitty Hawk Kites Flight School, got hooked on hang gliding at 19 years old.<\/p>\n<p>His oldest son, Willie Vaughn, has followed in his footsteps, founding his own hang gliding school, Appalachian Airsports, out of Lenoir, North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>Willie and his younger brother Michael were surrounded by hang gliding growing up, and have been participating in the annual Hang Gliding Spectacular for as long as they can remember.<\/p>\n<p>The 2026 Spectacular was both a chance for them to compete against and reconnect with their family and the greater hang gliding community they grew up with.<\/p>\n<p>In the face of fear and danger, the strong bonds formed within this tight-knit community make every pilot feel part of the family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The hang gliding spectacular started as a \u201cfly-in\u201d to share information among the Outer Banks hang gliding community, but has become more than just a competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":36,"menu_order":2,"template":"","class_list":["post-8","otb_story","type-otb_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/otb_story\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/otb_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/otb_story"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onthesebanks.unc.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}