Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, 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 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.
Ultralight aviation is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailerons, elevator and rudder, calling the former "microlight" and the latter "ultralight".
James Stephen Fossett was an American businessman and a record-setting aviator, sailor, and adventurer. He was the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in a balloon and in a fixed-wing aircraft. He made his fortune in the financial services industry and held world records for five nonstop circumnavigations of the Earth: as a long-distance solo balloonist, as a sailor, and as a solo flight fixed-wing aircraft pilot.
The Fédération aéronautique internationale is the world governing body for air sports, and also stewards definitions regarding human spaceflight. It was founded on 14 October 1905, and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. It maintains world records for aeronautical activities, including ballooning, aeromodeling, and unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), as well as flights into space.
Richard Meredith-Hardy is a British extreme microlight pilot. He has been flying microlights since 1984, was twice World Microlight Champion and has held a variety of speed records.
Powered paragliding, also known as paramotoring or PPG, is a form of ultralight aviation where the pilot wears a back-pack motor which provides enough thrust to take off using a paraglider. It can be launched in still air, and on level ground, by the pilot alone—no assistance is required.
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the United States and one of the oldest in the world, it serves as the “Aeroclub of the United States” and, by its Mission Statement it is "…dedicated to the advancement of the art, sport and science of aviation in the United States.” The NAA is headquartered at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, in Washington, D.C.
Airways Airsports is an airpark at Darley Moor Airfield, Derbyshire, offering hang gliding, paragliding, paramotoring, and microlight training and flying. It is a British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and British Microlight Aircraft Association (BMAA) recognised school. Instructors include a three-times world champion, world record holders, British cross country champion, British distance record holder, Royal Aeroclub gold medal winner, and members of the British hang gliding and paragliding team.
An ultralight trike or paratrike is a type of powered hang glider where flight control is by weight-shift. These aircraft have a fabric flex-wing from which is suspended a tricycle fuselage pod driven by a pusher propeller. The pod accommodates either a solo pilot, or a pilot and a single passenger. Trikes grant affordable, accessible, and exciting flying, and have been popular since the 1980s.
Colin Bodill is an adventurer and pilot from Nottingham, England.
A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered hang glider harness with a motor and propeller in pusher configuration. An ordinary hang glider is used for its wing and control frame, and the pilot can foot-launch from a hill or from flat ground, needing a length of about a football field to get airborne, or much less if there is an oncoming breeze and no obstacles.
Ann Courtenay Welch OBE, née Edmonds, was a pilot who received the Gold Air Medal from Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for her contributions to the development of four air sports - gliding, hang gliding, paragliding and microlight flying. She flew as a ferry pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary during the Second World War.
General aviation in the United Kingdom encompasses a variety of commercial and non-commercial aviation activities.
Judy Leden, MBE is a British hang glider and paraglider pilot. She has held three world champion titles, twice in hang gliding, once in paragliding.
Birdman Enterprises Limited was a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that commenced business in 1973 and became well known for its line of hang gliders and later its ultralight aircraft until its demise in late 1987.
Wladimir Talanczuk is a Ukrainian- born aeronautical engineer known for his hang glider and ultralight aircraft designs.
Larry Newman was an American pilot, business man, and balloonist. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first Atlantic ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle II and the first Pacific ocean crossing by balloon in the Double Eagle V.
The Pegasus Quantum is a British two-seat, ultralight trike that was designed and produced by Pegasus Aviation and later by P&M Aviation. The aircraft was supplied as a completed aircraft.
Flyability is a UK based charity that works to help disabled people fly hang gliders and paragliders. It is the disability initiative of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association, the governing body of hang gliding and paragliding in the UK.
John Malcolm Pendry is a British hang glider and paraglider pilot. He was Hang Gliding World Champion in 1985 after winning the World Championship in Kössen, Austria. In 1997 he became the Paragliding World Champion after winning the World Championship in Castejon de Sos in the Spanish Pyrenees. He was the European Hang Gliding Champion in four consecutive competitions, in 1986, 1988, 1990 and 1992.
