[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Taxpayer Funded Censorship: How Government Is Using Your Tax Dollars To Silence Your Voice "Terminator" Robot Dog Now Equipped With Amphibious Capabilities Trump Plans To Use Impoundment To Cut Spending - What Is It? Mass job losses as major factory owner moves business overseas Israel kills IDF soldiers in Lebanon to prevent their kidnap 46% of those deaths were occurring on the day of vaccination or within two days In 2002 the US signed the Hague Invasion Act into law MUSK is going after WOKE DISNEY!!! Bondi: Zuckerberg Colluded with Fauci So "They're Not Immune Anymore" from 1st Amendment Lawsuits Ukrainian eyewitnesses claim factory was annihilated to dust by Putin's superweapon FBI Director Wray and DHS Secretary Mayorkas have just refused to testify before the Senate... Government adds 50K jobs monthly for two years. Half were Biden's attempt to mask a market collapse with debt. You’ve Never Seen THIS Side Of Donald Trump President Donald Trump Nominates Former Florida Rep. Dr. Dave Weldon as CDC Director Joe Rogan Tells Josh Brolin His Recent Bell’s Palsy Diagnosis Could Be Linked to mRNA Vaccine President-elect Donald Trump Nominates Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture Trump Taps COVID-Contrarian, Staunch Public Health Critic Makary For FDA F-35's Cooling Crisis: Design Flaws Fuel $2 Trillion Dilemma For Pentagon Joe Rogan on Tucker Carlson and Ukraine Aid Joe Rogan on 62 year-old soldier with one arm, one eye Jordan Peterson On China's Social Credit Controls Senator Kennedy Exposes Bad Jusge Jewish Land Grab Trump Taps Dr. Marty Makary, Fierce Opponent of COVID Vaccine Mandates, as New FDA Commissioner Recovering J6 Prisoner James Grant, Tells-All About Bidens J6 Torture Chamber, Needs Immediate Help After Release AOC: Keeping Men Out Of Womens Bathrooms Is Endangering Women What Donald Trump Has Said About JFK's Assassination Horse steals content from Sara Fischer and Sophia Cai and pretends he is the author Horse steals content from Jonas E. Alexis and claims it as his own. Trump expected to shake up White House briefing room

Religion
See other Religion Articles

Title: Hang Gliding
Source: United States Hang Gliding Association
URL Source: http://www.ushga.org/
Published: Jun 18, 2005
Author: Me
Post Date: 2005-06-18 22:02:12 by timetobuildaboat
Keywords: Gliding, Hang
Views: 220
Comments: 25

Have any of you guys done this or considered learning how? By God I have a burning desire to get up there and soar on the wind. I've looked at Ultra lights but not real keen on the constant drone of the motor. There is a school for hang gliding in Indiana and I have written to the instructer to acertain costs and scheduals, still waiting for his response.

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  

Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 6.

#3. To: timetobuildaboat (#0)

I did this back in the 1970's. We flew the old 45 degree rogallo kites with lots of billow in the sail. The kind that NASA had designed for re-entry vehicles. I had a Pliable Moose Rogallo made in Wichita Kansas. The newer 100 degree wings with battoned sails, the modern kites, were just coming out when I quit. I never flew one of those.

These old kites didn't respond very well. They steered like a big boat, you had to wait to see the results of your steering inputs. In a way this made them safer and in a way it made them dangerous.

The advantage was they pointed to the wind well. Mine would be stable through turbulance at the edge of a ridge that would have the newer kites pitching and rolling. The newer kites were more maneuverable however.

I finally wiped out and broke my arm really badly. I was coming off a fifty foot high ridge in a high wind when something happened - I don't know what. All of a sudden I was two feet off the ground going about 35 mph. It was obvious one corner of my control bar was going to dig in. I put full control the other way and waited for the kite to come around. It didn't come around in time and the kite dug in and spun and flipped. All the tubes were broken and they had all already been sleaved from prior crashes. I needed new tubes but couldn't afford them. I never got around to putting the kite back together again.

The sport was sort of like surfing without the women. It was more of a lifestyle than an activity. You would go set up on a hill and the conditions would die. Everyone would then pack up and go to another hill and the conditions would then die there too. Everyone would then tear down the kites and go to a third hill. Places like Torry Pines where the conditions were always good were controlled by locals who resented crowds and didn't like out of towners.

I think a modern kite can do everything a sail plane can do except they are not as fast as sailplanes. Hence, they are not as good at catching thermals. Sailplanes are fast and have great glide ratios so they can make it to the next thermal after they have milked the first one. Kites can't do this so they usually just come down.

You might also look at a para-foil. The last time I was at Torry Pines these were being used more than the kites. I think stability is sacrificed in the modern kites to give control. This makes them unforgiving of pilot error. Two of my friends went into weird dives in these sorts of kites and were both badly injured. Neither one knows exactly what happened. Both report that they simply couldn't pull out of a dive. They never knew why. Para-foils are very stable and seem to steer very well.

crack monkey  posted on  2005-06-18   22:50:33 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I finally wiped out and broke my arm really badly.

yep.. now I know why I thought might be a bad idea :P

Zipporah  posted on  2005-06-18   22:52:09 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

I think parafoils are pretty safe. That's why they seem to be replacing the kites. Also you must realize that you will land hard a lot of the time. Clip a tree or a fence, etc. You won't be injured, but the kite will be trashed. You'll then spend a lot of time and money sleaving up the kite and getting it back together. That's why things like Mitchel Wings or Hang Tens never caught on - even though they flew better. One hard landing necessitated a hundred hours worth of work in the garage. At least the rogallos could be put back together pretty easily.

Parafoils are pretty impervious to getting banged on the ground and probably need very little repair. Another advantage is they set up faster than a kite and are much easier to transport and store.

You can soar them along a ridge just like a kite as well.

crack monkey  posted on  2005-06-18   23:07:50 ET  Reply   Untrace   Trace   Private Reply  

        There are no replies to Comment # 6.

End Trace Mode for Comment # 6.

Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest

[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]