Thats what happens kind of when my pair flies. The female always lands right next to the barn while he goes shooting past and hits a snowdrift or something. Too bad he died, he sounds like he was a great gander.
My gander can fly too, but he only gets 15-20 feet up and requires a long runway. She can take off with a single leap and flap now, she seems to grow stronger every day! Her wingspan is about 4-1/2 feet I think, is that big? How high and far will your greylags and greylag crosses go?