Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Description

Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Language– English

Hang Gliding & Paragliding by Noel Whittall.

Description

Hang Gliding & Paragliding

Read about the facts, thrills and challenges of hand gliding and paragliding. Discover the history, techniques, real-life stories and outstanding achievements behind these sports.

Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying para gliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness suspended below a fabric wing comprising a large number of interconnected baffled cells. Wing shape is maintained by the suspension lines, the pressure of air entering vents in the front of the wing, and the aerodynamic forces of the air flowing over the outside.

Despite not using an engine, paragliders flight can last many hours and cover many hundreds of kilometers, though flights of one to two hours and covering some tens of kilometers are more the norm. By skillful exploitation of sources of lift, the pilot may gain height, often climbing to altitudes of a few thousand meters.

Hang gliding is an air sport employing a foot-launchable aircraft known as a hang glider. Typically, a hang glider is constructed of an aluminium alloy or composite-framed fabric wing. The pilot is ensconced in a harness suspended from the air frame, and exercises control by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame.

About Author

Noel Whittall is a writer who has been flying hang gliders and paragliders for many years. He is an ex-chairman of the British Hang Gliding Assocation and is Secretary of CIVL, the FAI commission which regulates the sport world-wide.