My teenage son and I (40s-something) did the beginner hang gliding lesson. After booking our reservation, we watched the mandatory instructional video several times to familiarize ourselves with the commands and functions we would encounter during the experience. (This was very beneficial as it provided much-needed information for beginners.) Upon arrival, we checked in at the office located in Jockey's Ridge State Park, and an instructor gave our group a walkthrough of the glider components and basic commands. Then, each participant was given a harness and helmet.
After we made the short trek to the dunes, another instructor went over the basic commands and took a "practice" flight off the dune. Then, the group was divided up. My son and I, along with two other participants got Megan as our flight instructor.
My son and I were nervous at first but Megan was professional and provided terrific instructions on all five flights. She was extremely patient, encouraging, and was thorough in delivering instructions/critiques before, during, and after each flight. If given the chance, we would do this again because it was fun!
Tips: Book quickly to get a reservation as spots are limited (10 persons per group). Book a time that works well with your tolerance of the sun and heat and meal times. We booked the 1 p.m. time slot and it was around 3:40 p.m. when we finished up. Take plenty of water to drink, pack sun screen and shades, and wear sand socks or tennis shoes as the sand can get pretty warm. **Consider getting the photo/video package. We did this and we were glad we did because we got 2-minute video of all our flights and 50+ high-quality snapshots of our flights.**