Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched 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.
Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like 'pod' suspended below a fabric wing. 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.
Francis Melvin Rogallo was an American aeronautical engineer inventor born in Sanger, California, U.S. Together with his wife, he is credited with the invention of the Rogallo wing, or "flexible wing", a precursor to the modern hang glider and paraglider. His patents were ranged over mechanical utility patents and ornamental design patents for wing controls, airfoils, target kite, flexible wing, and advanced configurations for flexible wing vehicles.
Manilla is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, located on Fossickers Way 45 kilometres northwest of the regional city of Tamworth and 27 kilometres northeast of the historic village Somerton. Manilla is famous for its setting as a fishing and paragliding area. The name Manilla comes from the Gamilaraay language, and is said to mean 'winding river'.
Ridge lift is created when a wind strikes an obstacle, usually a mountain ridge or cliff, that is large and steep enough to deflect the wind upward.
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.
A windsport is any type of sport which involves wind-power, often involving a non-rigid airfoil such as a sail or a power kite. The activities can be land-based, on snow, on ice or on water. Windsport activity may be regulated in some countries by aviation/maritime authorities if they are likely to interfere with other activities. Local authorities may also regulate activity in certain areas, especially on crowded beaches and parks.
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.
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes.
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.
Gliding flight is heavier-than-air flight without the use of thrust; the term volplaning also refers to this mode of flight in animals. It is employed by gliding animals and by aircraft such as gliders. This mode of flight involves flying a significant distance horizontally compared to its descent and therefore can be distinguished from a mostly straight downward descent like a round parachute.
A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders have small engines for extending their flight when necessary by sustaining the altitude with some being powerful enough to take off by self-launch.
Bruce Goldsmith is a British paraglider pilot, paraglider designer, and the 2007 Paragliding World Champion. He won the title at Manilla in Australia, flying an Airwave Magic FR3.
Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.
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.
The British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (BHPA), based in Leicester, is the governing body in the UK for hang gliding and paragliding.
Speed-flying and speed riding are advanced disciplines of paragliding that use a small, high-performance paraglider wing to quickly descend heights such as mountains. Speed flying and speed riding are very similar sports; speed flying is when the speed wing is foot-launched, while speed riding is a winter sport done on skis.
Ozone Gliders Limited is an aircraft manufacturer based in Le Bar-sur-Loup, France, although it is registered in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft.
UP International GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturer based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft. The company started business as a hang glider manufacturer based in the United States.
