Editor's note: Zhang Chang-yi, 56, has more than 26 years of flying experience. In the late 1980s, he started a flying club that is believed to be the first private aviation organization in China. He now operates an aviation company in northern Beijing's Changping district.

Flying with non-powered aircraft, such as gliding parachutes and hang-gliders, is very different from taking a ride on a passenger plane.

Although they are both methods of flying, the experiences are as different as heaven and earth.