Hang gliding is an air sport in which a pilot flies a light and unmotorized foot-launchable aircraft called a hang glider (also known as Delta plane or Deltaplane). Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite-framed fabric wing. The pilot is ensconced in a harness suspended from the airframe, and exercises control by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame, but other devices, including modern aircraft flight control systems, may be used. In the sport's early days, pilots were restricted to gliding down small hills on low-performance hang gliders. However, modern technology gives pilots the ability to soar for hours, gain thousands of metres of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometres.
Birds fly, bugs fly, inflation is soaring but that’s a different matter. If you really want to know the glories and thrill of flying, there’s nothing at all like hang gliding. Imagine a day in the park with an airborne kite, high above the treetops. Now imagine You strapped to the kite; that’s virtually what we’re talking about here. The hang glider literally hangs under a kite, also known as a wing or a glider. The fact that the glider can weigh in excess of 50 pounds is a small issue. Once you’re harnessed under it, running along a downgrade into the wind, you’ll be shedding pounds faster than a chocoholic in a cabbage patch. Or so it will seem. Hang glider designs have come a long way since they first took serious flight in the late 1800s, and modern construction makes the most of achieving lift. So now that you’re hooked on the idea of skimming over hill and dale, where does one actually go to hang and glide?
Hang gliding is a skill easily learned, but practice makes perfect. A first-timer should find the nearest outfit offering lessons and sign up. People who glide come from all corners of life, so you needn’t feel intimidated. The United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association has helpful information online, as does the BHPA for the United Kingdom. It is recommended that a student learn the basics of navigation at a safe altitude, and do a few tandem flights from higher launch points with an instructor. By then, you’d have a fair idea of what the sport demands, and you may even start looking for a kite of your own.
If you have a weak stomach or a fear of heights, you should probably avoid hang gliding. I’m all for excitement, but I don’t enjoy activities that leave me vulnerable to falling, falling very very far. But through my research I found some reassurance… Hang Gliding is about as dangerous as riding a bike. Very few accidents happen, mostly because it is very hard to crash into anything 2000 feet in the air(the 2000 part doesn’t really help though haha). Hang gliders fly at relatively low speeds when compared with motorcycles, scooters, or even a downhill bike ride. Accidents primarily occur during takeoff or landing, and seldom harm the pilot.
Proper safety precautions such as helmets, parachutes, pre-flights, and hang checks keep the odds of a serious incident low. Hang Gliding is a social sport, and should never be done alone. Most hang gliding accidents occur when a pilot fails to have the proper safety equipment or flies without other pilots nearby.
*A new part of my blog routine will be including some background information on how one would be able to participate in the activities I talk about.*
If you want to learn how to hang glide, there are numerous ways you can determine whether the sport is right for you without a major upfront investment. You can take a tandem flight with an instructor connected to you via harnesses which will allow you to experience a flight at an altitude of up to one-half mile, or you can fly on your own on day one, but you’ll stay within 10 feet of the ground!
Intro Tandem Flight: $95 to $145
Your instructor will teach you hang glider basics and procedures and then the two of you will be aero-towed (by an ultra-light aircraft) to 2,000 to 2,500 feet. Once you release from the ultra-light, you will have the opportunity to fly the hang glider yourself for a few minutes. Your instructor will land and the hang glider rolls to a stop, very much like a small plane.
Tandem flights usually last between 10 and 20 minutes.
If you were going to buy your own stuff, a new hang glide with harness and reserve - $3600 and $5000.
