Hang gliding 101

Hello everyone/anyone, i am a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. For my intro to engineering design class, i have chosen the task of trying to improve the hang glider. My only problem is that i know absolutely zippo about a glider. what i am hoping for is a little feedback on how a hang glider works, what are some hang glider terms i should know/look up, and what are some experiences from your own flying/gliding time? any information would greatly be appreciated. thanx.

Jeffrey, Define 'improve'.

I submit that the best improvement to a hang glider would not be an increase in aerodynamic efficiency, but rather decreases in weight, cost, and 'pack-up' size WITHOUT sacrificing the performance and safety of a modern intermediate level hang glider. Many would agree, I think.

Good Luck, Ken Howells

: some hang glider terms i should know/look up, and what are some : experiences from your own flying/gliding time? any information would : greatly be appreciated. thanx.

Pitch, yaw, roll, and most importantly, stall!

My experiences to date have been pleasant, fortunately... ;^]

Jeff-

My recommendation... Get your hands dirty! I.e., find a good school/instructor nearby and enjoy the sport. Hopefully your new found passion for flying will give you all the answers and enthusiasm you'll need to (pardon the pun) soar with your project!

Good luck, Brent

I am looking for any info concerning the 'comet' hang glider. There is a comet for sale 100 miles from my place and before I spend time and money on this wing, I'd like to know it little bit more about it. The owner doesn't know anything about it. Any info such as size, manufacturer, weight, handling characteristics and reputation would be greatly appreciated.

Phil Leroy Cochise Air Sports (Arizona)

My advice: pick a narrow focus. Take one aspect of hang-gliding and make it better. To paraphrase an old builder's joke, you can make hang-glider that's safe, or you can make a hang-glider that's high-performance, or you can make a hang-glider that's inexpensive. Pick any two. Find a way to pick all three and you'll get an A+ from me.

Another way to break it down is to think of the flight of a hang-glider in stages: launch, manuevers, soar, descent, approach, landing. Improve one or more.

I think it's the old Comet made by UP. Must be at least 15 years old. Don't buy, there are much newer, better and safer gliders available.

Rüdiger

Although there are a few still flying, I would definitely be wary with this purchase. The Comet is about 15 years old and the sail will probably need to be replaced if it has been flown regularly. The Comet 2 is slightly younger agewise, but I would still hate to think I am flying a 12 year old sail if it has been UV'd for that period (ie: flown).

I would also track down a dealer, pay him (or have the owner pay) whatever his annual inspection fee and have the airframe checked for damage.

If you really want to enjoy the sport, you gotta pay for the peace of mind. There are 'younger' gliders out there that perform much better.

Dear jeff. you want to improve the hangglider. We have engineers that have been hanggliding for years. If you want to improve the hangglider , better visit a manufacturer and spend a few years getting yourself up to date.You'll just end up reinventing what we had ten years ago. If you had any great ideas ,any dealer would be more than happy to hear them. At this point it would be difficult to come up with anything that has already been tried ..GOOD LUCK