There are those who want to gain thousands of feet of altitude and fly long distances. There are those who enjoy simple top of the hill to bottom of the hill sled rides. There are many different levels on which hang gliding and paragliding can be pursued. Circling with a bird in a thermal or flying over a local mountain range is an experience that will never be forgotten. As long as the glider stays in the upward moving air it will stay aloft, but as soon as it flies out of the upward moving air, the glider will start to gently descend again. The other is by flying the glider in “ridge lift” which is created when wind hits an obstruction like a mountain or hill and gets deflected up the face of it. The first is by circling the glider in a thermal, which is a column of warm rising air. There are two different ways this can happen. The result will be that the glider is able to gain altitude or at least maintain its altitude. The only way to combat this is to get the glider into air that is rising faster than the glider is descending. Like a giant paper airplane, once airborne, a glider is constantly being pulled down toward the ground by gravity. This is a challenge since hang gliders and paragliders do not have engines. In order to fly for hours and for long distances a glider needs to be able to gain altitude or, at a minimum, maintain altitude. Hang gliders and paragliders are more focused on soaring flights at altitude, while speedwings are used for flying quickly and close to terrain. Flight: Hang gliders are more streamlined and are capable of much faster speeds, improved glide ratios, and the ability to fly in stronger conditions as compared to paragliders due to their slower speed, paragliders can typically land in much smaller fields. Set-up: Hang gliders fold up for transport and take about 15 to 20 minutes to set up and prepare to launch paragliders and speedwings are packed completely assembled and take about 5 to 10 minutes to set-up and prepare to launch.Transport: Hang gliders typically weigh more than 50 pounds, can be carried balanced on your shoulder, and require a roof rack to transport on a vehicle paragliders and speedwings typically weigh less than 50 pounds, are carried in a backpack, and can fit inside a vehicle.The key differences between hang gliding, paragliding, and speedflying Like other aviation, paragliding and speedflying are dependent on weather, maturity and judgment, and the pilot’s ability to make good decisions. The lightweight kits make it very accessible to hike to launches. Everything you need to fly fits in your backpack, which you can check onto a plane or put in the trunk of your car as you travel. This is the most practical type of aviation on the planet. With paragliding and speedflying, all the equipment fits in a backpack weighing anywhere from 25-50 pounds (or lighter!) depending on your equipment choices. Pilots' prone position when flying gives hang gliding the feeling of flying like a bird. Hang gliders can withstand more G-forces than many single engine aircraft and can be folded up into a bag that is 16’-18’ long and a foot in diameter and easily transported on the roof of a car. That means they fly 16 feet forward for every foot of altitude they lose when flying in calm air. Although gliders normally fly between 20 and 30 mph, they can reach speeds in excess of 80 mph and have a glide ratio of up to 16:1. Hang gliders are now made of aircraft aluminum or carbon fiber, stainless steel cable and Dacron (the same material sailboat sails are made of) and weigh between 45 lbs. Hang gliders have evolved from Francis Rogallo’s original flexible wing (as described in the History) into modern day flying marvels. It’s the best thing I have ever done.” Or as Leonardo da Vinci said, Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return. Hang gliding is the closest thing I’ve found to matching that feeling in my dreams. A recent student summed it up like this: “I’ve had dreams of flying my whole life. It’s everything you think it would be (and probably more). Trying to describe the feeling of flying a hang glider is almost impossible.
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