Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered with synthetic sailcloth[1] to form a wing. Typically the pilot is in a harness suspended from the airframe, and controls the aircraft by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame.
Early hang gliders had a low lift-to-drag ratio, so pilots were restricted to gliding down small hills. By the 1980s this ratio significantly improved, and since then pilots have been able to soar for hours, gain thousands of feet of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometers. The Federation Aeronautique Internationale and national airspace governing organisations control some regulatory aspects of hang gliding. Obtaining the safety benefits of being instructed is highly recommended and indeed a mandatory requirement in many countries.[2][3]
- ^ "Hang Glider Sailcloth Information - Wills Wing, Inc". willswing.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Meadows, G.W. "How to buy a hang glider". www.start-flying.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
- ^ "Learning to Hang Glide". Hang Gliding Federation of Australia. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.