What Gear Do I Need to Go Hang Gliding?

Video Transcript

"Hi, this is David Duke. Welcome to Expert Village. In this clip, I'm going to talk about the remaining gear that you would need when you get further along in the sport. But when you're a beginner, this is all you need. A hang glider, a harness, a helmet, and a good instructor. If we were actually flying I'd want to know how high I was. So I bolt on my electronic altimeter, plus a barometer, which tells me my rate of speed and climb. And modern day gliders actually we have GPS in them so we know exactly where are in space and we can avoid the restricted airspace. And we know how far we flew so when we land we can brag that we flew farther than all of our friends. Also, if we're going to set records, we're going one hundred miles or the record is four hundred thirty nine miles. If you're going to go that kind of distance just like a hot air balloon, you have a ground crew that chases you and we have a hamm radio which we're licensed to use. It connects up into my helmet on real racing helmet. I have an ear piece a microphone and little push button on my finger. So I can talk and drive at the same time. A very important piece of equipment is usually, well two, one a cell phone, so that when you land you can call your friends and tell your wife what time you're going to be home for dinner and that every thing's OK. And if there was a problem you could call for help. And two, another piece of important equipment I always fly with a buddy. So that's my other equipment."