Age minimum for HG?

hanggliding requires a modest amount of upper body strength and coordination. There is no min age requirement. A pilot does need to be able to pickup and run with the glider.

R. Williams

I think that the biggest restriction is height and weight. I'm 1.6 meters tall (with narrow shoulders) and weigh 60 kg, so I'm pushing the lower limits for hanggliding. I have yet to see a hangglider with a recommended pilot weight of less than 65kg[1], and when training on sand dunes had much trouble getting the base bar clear of the sand. As Richard said one does need to be able to run with the glider...

Karen Burger

[1] If anyone knows of any beginner/intermediate gliders with lower weight requirements I would be interested in hearing from them.

When I learned to fly, I weighed less than 60kg, and ended up buying an old PacAir Mark IV. I had no problem with control, and flew mostly in mountain sites with ridge lift and light thermals, and some coastal cliff sites.

Of course penetration in high winds is always a problem, but that's easily solved by landing before the winds pick up too much, and staying out of narrow valleys below the ridge line when flying in ridge lift.

I haven't flown hang gliders in a while, but I was under the impression that there were a lot of makers coming out with smaller wings?????

On another topic, if one tows rather than learn on the bunny hill, then requirement for 'running' with the glider has been removed.

Let's hope one always lands into the wind with no-step landings!

[Note to Ed Hooks] You should take your daughter out to Fort Funston in San Francisco (take 280N to highway 1, when highway 1 goes left towards the beach (at a traffic signal), do a U-turn, and Ft. Funston is the first park on the right (go to the top of the hill)).

There are a lot of hang glider pilots there, sometimes they even fly when conditions are right. Have your daughter interview some of these people. Some of the pilots have been flying there for over 20 years.

And if you have dogs, Ft Funston is a great place to take them and let them run wild.

-Jim

Karen,

The Wills Wing Falcon 140 has an optimum pilot body weight range of 52 to 61 kilos, and the useful hook in weight range is around 54 kilos up to 95 kilos. The Wills Wing UltraSport 135 has a hook in range of 57 kilos up to 95 kilos. Remember that hook in weight is typically at least 5 to 7 kilos more than body weight. A petite pilot friend of mine who weighs barely over 50 kilos flew a 135 on a recent day and declared it very comfortable, though she might have to work a bit in real strong air. These gliders can be made with 1.5 meter (60' downtubes to help get the bar off the ground a bit.
www.willswing.com has more information.

Best Regards, Ken Howells

Just as a matter of interest, the legal minimum age here in UK is 16.

Parachuting = 14, so while it's illegal to fly a HG at 14, if you have a midair, your descent under parachute is legal!

Amusing. Back in the bad old days (before parachutes OR even helmets in many cases) I weighed in at a scrawny 54 kilos (not any more). On the other side, the gliders weighed a lot less then too.

I note in my logbook (Sept 15, 1974) I find that Mike Riggs let me fly the prototype Seagull V. Later, Seagull recommended the minimum pilot weight to be 64 kilos. I recall it was a handfull...

Oh BTW, I was 13 years 81 days old on June 19, 1973; on my first hang glider flight. I saw Roy Haggard recently and he commented, 'We survived.'

Al Bowers

Oh, you got a head start on me, I had my first flights in 1977 when I was 28 years old - now pushing 50, but the hills are steeper now, and the glider heavier - in fact, mine is heavier every spring when I get it out the bag.

Both my son and daughter learnt to fly as soon as they were 16, and it was legal - unfortunately, both seemed to delight in sitting 300ft above me.....

Children. Huh.