Hang gliding

Hang gliding is an air sport, both recreational and competitive. It started as simply gliding down small hills on low performance kites, hang gliding has evolved the ability to soar for hours with hawks and eagles, gain thousands of feet of altitude in thermal updrafts, and fly cross country on distances of hundreds of miles. The sport is closely related to paragliding and gliding (flying sailplanes) but using a much simpler and less expensive craft consisting of an aluminum, or composite framed fabric wing, with the pilot mounted on a harness hanging from the wing frame and exercising control by shifting body weight.

Competitions started with flying as long as possible and spot landings. With increasing performance cross country replaced them. Usually two to four waypoints have to be passed with a landing at a goal. In the late 90s low power GPS units were introduced and have completely replaced photographs of the goal. There is a world championship. The Rigid and Women's World Championship in 2006 was hosted by Quest Air in Florida. Big Spring, Texas is hosting the 2007 World Championship. Hang gliding is also a competition category in World Air Games organized by Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (World Air Sports Federation - FAI). The FAI also has a chronology of the FAI World Hang Gliding Championships.

Launch techniques include foot launching from a hill, tow launching from a ground-based tow system, aerotowing, and powered harnesses. Other, more exotic launch techniques have also been used successfully, such as hot air balloon drops for very high altitude launches. In flight, conditions can be either soarable or not soarable. Soaring flight can be sustained generally through thermals or ridge lift , or both. Flights powered by ridge lift are generally confined to the vicinity of the ridge or coastal cliff, while thermal flights can extend over great distances and reach thousands of feet in altitude over mountains and flatlands.

The flexible wing hang glider, having flight controlled by a wing whose shape changes in virtue of the shifted weight of the pilot. This is not a paraglider.
The rigid wing hang glider, having flight controlled by spoilers, typically on top of the wing. In both flexible and rigid wings the pilot hangs below the wing without any additional fairing.
Class 2 where the pilot is integrated into the wing by means of a fairing. These offer the best performance and are the most expensive.
All types of hang gliders can be foot launched, but landing some class-2 hang gliders is only possible on wheels.

In another perspective there are more than three classes of hang glider. Consider a multi-plane rigid winged hang glider that does not shape change in virtue of shifted pilot weight; Otto Lilienthal introduced this class of hang glider. Further, the rotary wing hang gliders, though not popular, are in a class by themselves. Paragliders can be seen simply as one class of hang glider in alternative perspectives.

British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association Website

Coupe Icare (Icarus Cup) is an annual festival of free flight held at St Hilaire du Touvet - Lumbin (Isère, France). The festival typically lasts four days and is held in the early autumn. Coupe Icare is best known for its Concours de déguisements (Masquerade Flight contest), in which paraglider and hang glider pilots fly in costume to compete for prizes.

The aerokurier Online Contest (OLC), a worldwide decentralized soaring competition for glider, hang glider, and paraglider pilots. The OLC is operated by Segelflugszene Gemeinnützige GmbH, a German not-for-profit founded in 2000. "Segelflugszene" translates as "gliding scene" in English.

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