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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: 390
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.

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#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  

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