How to Get Started in Hang Gliding

Series Summary

Man has always looked to the sky and wondered how he too could fly like the birds above. Actual powered flight would have to wait until the twentieth century, but gliding dates back to the Neanderthal era, when cave men used to climb high into trees to get fruit, then use animal skins to break their fall. From these makeshift parachutes, recorded in the cave drawings of Northern France, tentative attempts were made to fly forward instead of straight down. The Greeks and Romans conceived of hang gliders and used very simple designs as wings for actors in their plays. Icarus perhaps would have been an early hang gliding pioneer if his wings had not been burned to a crisp. During the Renaissance era, Leonardo and other inventors drew up detailed designs of hang gliders, but they were never successfully built. The first official hang gliding flights of the modern era took place in 1889. In one of the most notorious hang gliding incidents, cult leader Father Yod's first flight on the Hawaiian island of Kauai became his last when he died of injuries sustained after a crash landing.

In this series of hang gliding lesson videos, our expert hang-glider tells you how to get started in this exhilarating sport. He begins by telling you how to build a rack on your car, then tells you how to set up your hangglider and gives you tips for your pre-flight check. Then you learn a few pointers on proper ground position and control and before you know it, you're airborne! This excellent series takes you to an actual hang gliding session and demonstrates everything you need to know on the same type of equipment you will be using.

Video Transcript

"Hi this is David Duke. Welcome to Expert Village. In this clip I'm going to talk about how to get started in hand gliding. The best way to get started in hand gliding is to find an instructor. So the best way to find an instructor is to go to the USHPA.org (United States Hand gliding and Para gliding Association dot org). USHPA. And on there they'll have a list of local instructors that you can find. This is my card that shows that I know I'm doing in hand gliding. It shows what you've been instructed in and what you're rated to do. Very much like scuba divers are certified by Paddy or Nowey for open water, deep dives, special gases all those things, this thing certifies that I've been trained in aero tow, foot launch, flat slope launch, restricted landing fields, turbulence and cross country flying. So if I go somewhere and I want to fly with some guys I don't know or I want to use some of their equipment, I show them my card and they understand that I've been checked out and in these things and should know what I'm doing. The worst way to get started is to go onto EBay or some garage sale and buy a twenty or thirty year old glider that is no longer certified, that never flew right when it was good in the first place, is not modern and has no instructions and go out and try and do it yourself. It's pretty much guaranteed you're going to injure yourself and break things and break the glider and it's going to be a very unhappy experience. That's the worst way to get started."