I was a pole vaulter in the 70s - my vaulter friends and I made hang gliders out of old fiberglass vaulting poles covered with a pretty thick MIL plastic. We used duct tape to attach the plastic to the frame. We used a foam ski belt as a harness. I swear this isn't a joke. We flew at a few ski resorts during the months they were closed down for skiing. We also flew at large sand dunes in Kitty Hawk, NC. We were young and stupid, what can I say . . .
I like the newer designs, as they appear to have no king pin; much cleaner aerodynamics. When I started hang gliding in '77, there were no double-surface sails and the only battens were to help stiffen the sail, not create an airfoil. Heck, we were just out of the Stone Age of regallo wing gliders w/ 15 degrees of billow and glide ratios in the single digit range. To put that into perspective, the Space Shuttle has a glide ratio of 4.5:1 - which is really poor. I remember how impressed I was with my Cirrrus 5 and its 1 to 2 degrees of billow and an 8:1 glide ratio. There are hang gliders out today that sport 15:1 and 20:1 glide ratios. To think what I was able to do in such a relatively primitive glider - 8 1/2 hr sustained flight, a PB of 12,500ft altitude and enough flight hours to warrant a commercial pilot's rating twice over - makes me wish I could still fly. Be still, my heart. lol
Yea, the innovations have excelled exponentially, and now in paragliding also. My beginner paraglider had about 8:1 glide ratio. Now my “high performance” En-B (still a B which is a very safe glider, but top of the B class) gets 9-10:1 in dead air at trim, the glide ratio gets worse when speed system is activated, but not by much, and I can speed up from 25 mph trim to about 40 mph full speed. If I only use half of the speed bar, fly at 32-33 mph air speed I don’t lose hardly any glide ratio. It’s that last 7 mph that really starts to degrade my glide. But the higher performance comp gliders can fly at 45 mph without losing almost any glide.
i believe in the next 20 years we will have hang gliders that have motors where the propeller fits back into the leading edge of the wing or something, and the wing covering material is made of solar panels, and the wing ribs are where the batteries are located :) will make for very long flights. maybe all day on a good sunny day with thermals
Not the White Cliffs of Dover - this is the Seven Sisters in the County of Sussex on the south coast of England. The fliers are utilising the north scarp of the The South Downs. We also see Belle Tout Lighthouse and Eastbourne . . .
@@watdatdoo human error kills humans in several activities, including airplanes, cars, bikes. Death is the price we all pay for being alive, and there's nothing else in life as flying like a bird. Hang gliding is the best and most beautiful thing I've ever experienced, and well worth any risk that might be involved. Still, those can be mitigated to a great extent and I know many pilots who have been doing it for decades and never got hurt.
I flew a Top Secret, the forerunner of this glider. Are they still made? They look so much better as an all round glider than the over the top Atos . The TS was so much fun and easy to fly
Looks like Devils Dyke; it's always crowded on a good day. There has been more then 1 fatality due to collisions over the years. It is a great site tho'.
Imagine a day when the world has a giant Tsunami and everyone flies out with their hang gliders :) I just need to find a school to teach me cus I'm interested in this a lot
I can only assume the dislikes are because it says tsunami hang glider I clicked on this thinking a hang glider was flying over a tsunami so I would get to see one but no I did not click down for that but I assume some people would
Look for the nearest club/instructor/spot/pilots to get proper training. They will advise on equipment. A used glider is a good start, and you can pick a new one later.
I will go for balancing your own feet. Not just depend on tie. It will make the original gliding experience when keep balancing yourself to keep your feet forward.
@Hard Facts yes there is a risk associated with paragliding but it can be done safely and you can have one or two Reserves. And if you don't take it to the extremes it can be done safely. I'm leaning towards the PPG more than just gliding. I like the idea of taking off from anywhere and easy Transport. In powered hang gliding or ultralight airplanes it gets a bit more complicated/ expensive.
He turns. It's pretty normal with these things. You pull brake, you slower and you loose some height. Also during take-off wing need to get some energy so it looses some height too. He was taking-off and turning left, two factors at once.
there are 3 basic types of paragliders, #3 is called a speed glider and if speed is your thing then you should check them out. There fast as hell and there are some good speed gilder videos on hear but all said and done i'm with you, hang gliding rules!
