The Wills Wing Easy Flyer! More info on our web site here: www.willswing.... Song: Gravity [Rewind Remix Release] Music provided by Rewind Remix goo.gl/08ZthI Artist: M3rlin
I don't fly anymore because of a car crash that gave me Drop foot and a artificial hip that pops out of place very easy. I was thinking maybe if I had a tandem glider with wheels I could at least do arrow tow but this would be even better.
I really like this concept. Consider this. We do have pilots like myself who have been flying since the early 1970's. Yea.... I am old. Although I currently have no limitations with my launching ability, I have considered going supine or suprone due to neck issues. Had spinal fusion a little over a decade ago. The prone position forces me to limit my time in the air to a couple of hours. There are also individuals that may not have full function of their legs due to various reasons. This will allow them to launch and land. I am presuming that unless launch slopes meet certain specifics, being proper steepness, proper length for roll, and pretty smooth that you will not be able to launch with roll off. I have six popular sites I fly in Arkansas and Oklahoma, and I am pretty sure that none of them would accommodate for launching with the Easy Flyer. So, a question I have for the designer, can the glider be foot-launched with the Easy Flyer rig attached?
Thanks for your comments! We really are looking forward to serving those with physical limitations that make prone flying and/or foot launching and landing difficult or impossible. We have yet to attempt a foot launch but under ideal conditions we are confident that I can be done. You can lift the glider and run with it like a normal glider but it is heavier and it's going to be a bit awkward to run with the beam between your legs. However with a steady, strait-in, ~8+ mph wind it should be pretty easy. We will update when we know more.
I agree with menamiketrx, I am starting my hang glider training next weekend but due to being in a car crash I have spine damage that will be painful in a prolonged prone position. This setup would be wonderful to extend my flight times, increase comfort, and, since I am only 32 now, could add many years on to my ability to take to the skies. I am definitely watching this product.
@@FLYWillsWing I've never flown and probably never will but I am intensely curious. If you attached pedals and a bicycle-like mechanism, could you make it possible for flatlanders to take off without a tow or a hill?
Adding two electric or RC gas engines on the back upright tube will make a lightweight and easy setup powered hangglider trike which is much easier for one person flight compared to regular powered trikes.
I tried sitting up in my Falcon. I like more speed on launch. It didn't turn as nice as a prone position and I didn't feel as comfortable in rowdy air. Back to Superman position now.
Hey Steve, I love the concept and get what you guys are aiming for. My only concern is for those days you fly and it gets a bit more windy while in the air or even on launch before getting airborne. The set angle of attack worries me for those gusts which will make you lift when you don't want to. Or when you are in the landing field with no help and a bit more wind - how would you control that? What is your "get out of jail free" card? :)
The answers to those questions aren't really known yet as it's still a new thing that we don't have all that much experience with. For days like that, it's going to be best to have at least one helper on launch.
OK. Good to know. Is there any way when you have landed to pick up the glider and just get the nose down a tad while you turn it side ways? (Just thinking out loud here..) :) Well, I guess you need to look into these things so you can give us some good hints on how to handle those unplanned for sticky situations. ;)
Its on wheels, so no need to pick the glider up. However, yes you can pick the glider up and carry it like a normal glider. You can also just sit down in the harness. While sitting down, the glider is loaded and it would have to be excessively windy to have issues.
Looks great. Be good to see it on some higher performance gliders. When foot Launch and landing are on wheels then the extra speed of a top less or at least an intermediate wing wouldn't be an issue I wouldn't think. I have seen a home made wheel base setup simular to this before with the ability to easily mount a paramotor onto the back.
GREAT & AMAZING MOVE TO COMFORT SUPINE POSITION BY WILLS WING ,....MAY BE THE NEXT GENERATION FUTURE HANG GLIDING COME BY FACTORY KIT JOB THIS SECOND OPTION ALL MODEL HANG GLIDER,...PURÉ SUPINE,...THIS THE OLDIE & NEW OPEN WINDOW IN THE MARKET,,......EASY FLYER SUPINE........THANKS
Nice inventions, but in my suggestion, why you don't make some pedal for its rudder and joystick for the aileron with a combination of elevator for a great navigation instead of weighing your body to the left or right, its hassle. Why you don't add some front-stick for it's elavator in order to force the nose of the glider down or up instead of weighing your body to its front or back when you take off or landing... Then add some spoiler in order to increase the drag and decrease the lift specially for your landing operation. Which is controlled by an engineered switch on your cockpit in order to activate your spoiler.. Because without these parts, you will not feel the effortless experience in the progress of navigation.. But some how, it is nice recreation activity with the air.. Nice video.. Specially your runway for take off.. Keep it up. I will going to subscribe in order to watch some of your video.. And i am hoping to see those parts in progress of navigating.. Thank you
Hi Vaughn, I'm guessing that you don't have any hang gliding experience? I'm been a licensed pilot with since 1978 with airtime in dozens of aircraft from ultralights to sailplanes to light twins (also an aeronautical engineer and all-things flying buff since I was a child). I love all types of flying but nothing compares with weight-shift hang gliding. The maneuverability is really extraordinary and hang glider configurations with auxiliary controls (spoilers, etc) don't come close the authority, precision and efficiency of weight shift. Consider that you are trading the WHOLE wing surface for a small auxiliary actuated surface. I can maneuver right at stall speed with far more confidence and safety than any 3-axis ultralight configuration. It feels like the difference between driving a motorcycle and a tractor. 3-axis has its place and it's certainly far easier to engineer but is far short of the performance and efficiency of weight shift for this type of configuration.
To be honest yes, i don't have, after i watched too many hang gliding accidents, i did not try it, but somehow, im still learning about physics specially the third law of motion on airfoils, maybe after I've been discover all of this disadvantage of air navigation, i am ready to fly for it, Any way, how old are you bro..?
Coming up on 62, I've been flying for 45 years with about 5000 hours and 9000 flights. I'd never try to convince anyone that HG is 'safe' but the online presentation really distorts the safety. My wife and daughter fly, and I've come to realize that the attitude of participants is the biggest factor in safety. Consider mountain biking on a beach trail compared to hucking cliffs and jumps at the RedBull Rampage (or similar with skiing and other activities)--is mountain biking safe or not? I participate I both of these activities and try to be equally careful but I get hurt on my mtn bike more often than I care to admit. HGs are extraordinarily airworthy and the limitations are primarily associated with light wing loading. Anything with a light wing loading is more subject to turbulence but that's offset by the ability to land at slow speeds in restricted areas. Pilots can get into trouble when they don't respect boundaries and leave themselves a healthy safety margin. Can you even imagine how many accidents we'd see if pilots routinely flew conventional aircraft at 150% VNE and in aircraft that they weren't qualified to operate? That's what gets some into trouble. As far as airworthiness, I'd say that a HG is inherently safer than a Cessna 172 which is about as idiot-proof as it comes.
Will a PG-style harness be included as part of the setup (i.e. is Wills going to manufacture or source harnesses) or is that up to the user to provide? Are the downtubes and/or lower wires different? Could this be switched easily to a standard suprone setup if you didn't want to fly with the undercarriage on a particular day or at a particular site?
We have developed a harness that is better suited to this configuration than a PG harnesses. The wires and control bar are different because flying suprone with a standard prone configuration is less than ideal (the bar is too short for comparable control authority and too far out to easily reach). A quick-assembly version that is optimized for transportation is still under development and it's too early to tell if that would be suitable to fly suprone without the carriage.
Good deal. I'd like to hear/see more about the harness and spreader bar setup when those details are released. Re-rigging (and a suprone-tailored control frame) seems like the way to go if you're going to fly that way - no rear handles to add to the downtubes and less fuel for the naysayers that like to point out reduced control authority. Kudos to you guys for making this an option. Will this fit on older Falcons (like the F3) as well?
Falcon. We just flew the Alpha with it for the first time the other day. The wings have longer downtubes and that requires a different lower wire set. There is also an extra hole in the rear keel to mount the rear mast. Other then that they are stock.
Confira o novo folheto Easy de. é um trem de pouso triciclo de largura fixa ligado a um falcão de asa de vontade 4 ou asa-delta alfa. O piloto sentado em vez de propenso. Essa configuração reduz muitas dessas demandas associadas ao lançamento, pouso e pilotagem de um parapente. O carro fixo define o ângulo de ataque em uma atitude ideal para decolar. Pode ser aero-rebocado ou rolou uma colina para o lançamento. A atitude fixa também reduz os requisitos de habilidade do piloto em comparação com um carro de triciclo convencional. é uma excelente primeira experiência em treinamento galider. Os primeiros modelos de pré-produção serão lançados para selecionar as scools de combate em setembro. As versões futuras serão rápidas e fáceis de transportar. muito divertido.
I learned how to fly seated in a "standard" in 1976 and shortly thereafter went prone. I'd do a couple of ski launches every winter in a seat and felt totally at home with it. I think I'd like an extra cross tube on the control bar belly high so I wouldn't have to hang on to the down tubes.