ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ

For a thrill, thereÃÛèÖÊÓƵ no better experience than skydiving from 10,000 feet up.

“There's just such a wide variety of people that come through,� said Andy Van Handel, a skydiving instructor at Seven Hill Skydivers of Madison, based in Marshall, Wisconsin.

“Skydiving in general has literally all walks of life. There's doctors, lawyers, and a lot of college students. When it's time to make that skydive, we're all there to do the same thing: just to have fun and get that rolling rush. It's such a cool thing,� Van Handel said.

Van Handel said he once dove with a 95-year-old World War II veteran. In July, Seven Hill Skydivers of Madison will host its 10th Freedom Freefall.

teaming with Skydive Freefall Adventure in Pulaski, it will take 40 veterans on sky dives over two days as a way of helping them cope with PTSD or other combat-related issues. The skydives are paid for by WisconinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ chapter of Helping Out Our American Heroes.

With just over 3,700 skydives under his belt – with 2,000 as an instructor – Van Handel has shared the sky with thousands of people. When the experience truly takes a hold of someone, he knows it.

“I took our club president's son on a skydive and you could see the transformation from inside the plane to when we landed,� Van Handel said. “He was like a whole different person. For the next three days when you mentioned it, he just lit it up. It was just such a cool thing.�

ThereÃÛèÖÊÓƵ plenty of farmland to see from Wisconsin's sky. On a clear day at Seven Hill Skydivers of Madison, divers can see the state Capitol building 20 miles to the west and on clear days, they can see the Milwaukee skyline.

With less smoke on the horizon than last summer, when Wisconsin was impacted by Canadian wildfires, thereÃÛèÖÊÓƵ plenty of area to explore, coordinated by places that include Wisconsin Skydiving Center in Jefferson, Skydive the Rock in Beloit and Skydive Wissota in Chippewa Falls.

Hang gliding

At Hang Glide Wisconsin, in Whitewater, owners Daniel and Karen Lange provide a more peaceful way to experience the sky from a birdÃÛèÖÊÓƵ eye view.

They’ve flown people as young as age 4 – the current age minimum is 10 – to 88, from all backgrounds. Offering an incomparable view of WisconsinÃÛèÖÊÓƵ breathtaking landscape, they also provide a chance to fly with no effect on the environment.

“Skydiving and hang gliding are almost opposites in the flying experience,� Daniel Lange said. “One falls, one flies. Excitement vs peacefulness. Hang gliding participants have the potential to gain altitude without adding a power plant. Skydiving, not so much. Our participants, who have sampled both, prefer hang gliding 99.9%.�

The solar-powered hang gliding experience in Wisconsin is not only an excellent way to explore the state, but itÃÛèÖÊÓƵ also one of the best opportunities to explore the Midwest.

“Wisconsin is particularly special in our sport,� Lange said. “It is the only hang gliding opportunity, due to our aero-tow capability, west of Chattanooga, north of Houston, and east of the Rockies. Whitewater itself is a great place for many reasons, but luck/fate played a huge role in us landing here, flying out of Gutzmer's Twin Oaks Airport.�

Hot air balloons

Another way to peacefully explore the sky is in a hot air balloon. Floating at between 1,000 and 3,000 feet, participants get an awesome view of which you can catch details, because the balloon is slow-moving.

Calm Sky Adventures LLC provides rides in Omro while Lake Geneva Balloon company flied over its beautiful beaches and water.

Kelch Aviation Museum

If you prefer keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground, Kelch Aviation Museum in Brodhead brings the golden age of aviation to life with its collection of planes. With over a dozen aircraft from between World War I and II, visitors can experience these vintage planes up close. Its collection includes a 1929 Travel Air 2000, a 1936 Aeronca LB and a Rearwin Sportster 8500 Deluxe. Kelch Aviation Museum is located at N2463 Airport Road, Brodhead. For more information call (608) 897-1175 or visit \.kelchmuseum.org.

EAA AirVenture

There may be no better place – not only in the state but in the U.S. – to learn about aviation than at the Experimental Aircraft Association headquarters in Oshkosh.

With over 200,000 members, EAA was founded in 1953 and has since spread the celebration and love of recreational aviation across the world. EAA AirVenture Oshkosh – the biggest sport aviation gathering in the world – hosts thousands of aircrafts, attendees and workshops. During the showÃÛèÖÊÓƵ 70th anniversary last year, approximately 677,000 people and more than 10,000 aircrafts attended.

This yearÃÛèÖÊÓƵ event will take place July 22-28. People from all over the world come to celebrate aviation, watch air shows, fly planes, learn and immerse themselves in the worldÃÛèÖÊÓƵ biggest recreational aviation community all right here in Wisconsin.