Best Plan to Save Sport of Hang Gliding

[Swift]

Let's start a conversation. I have an idea that can positively result in the growth of new pilots.
People can start lining up with their own arguments and I'll hold mine off for a while.
Do you see hang gliding dying a slow death, or not?
Steve Pierson's recent concerns as the premier hg manufacturer in the US tells me the premise is true.
What can we do about it?

[Joe Faust]

Hang gliding is not dying any slow death; hang gliding has been around for centuries and will continue to be alive and well.
Idea:
Have focused recreational hang gliding association that SOPs only for solo foot-launch (or roll) hang gliding. That is, no attention on tandem, towing, events, commerce. Let tandem, joy riding, towing, events, and commerce (instructing, control sites, events, goods) stand on their own two feet. The focused association would advance free mentoring, free observing, free coaching; no commercial instructing. The focused association would have a system of ratings for free (and good for life). The association would not sell or collect fees. The association would depend on states' lands' recreational use statutes. There would be no association insurance sought or offered; the insurance industry would not be dealing the cards. Deep nurturing of mentors and observers would be a core game in town. Literature would not be sold by the association; but literature would be made available to all members online free; online knowledge tests would be free. Association open forum would be free to all the world; volunteer moderators would sort the forum for spam. Members' learnings would be celebrated. Incidents would be reported openly in the forum. The association would have zero to do with PG except to educate all the world's press offices that hang gliding is very distinct from PG.

Let fun, knowledge, and open mentoring be the drivers of HG. Seek not to convince anyone to hang glide; advertise not; just do the above.





[[ tags: Steve Pearson https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wills_Wing ]]

[BilleFly]

…
Do you see hang gliding dying a slow death, or not?
…

NO , it's not a Slow death , (it's rather fast) ; and it's a shame nobody
can figure out how to promote this wonderful sport. It's not that expensive
to do , it's FUN, and hang gliding can be some-what Sane, if you keep away
from the extreme weather conditions. I guess that could apply to other sports
like snow skiing , rock climbing, and kite boarding as well ; there is a way to
push the limits on all of them, and make death easier to achieve.

Bille

[UnTuckable]

Sane

"Safe and Sane Flying" - Clyde Ice

Clyde Ice was a self taught barn storming pilot from the 1920s that probably out lived all the other pilots from that time. He was still a licensed pilot into his 90s.

The current hang glider designs are perfectly safe as long as the pilot doesn't make any mistakes. But they all make the first mistake of flying a aircraft with a proven deadly crash cage. That's not sane. The HG crash cage is almost as bad as the joy-stick controlled aircraft designs that impale the pilot on hard landings.

The aircraft developers have pursued improvements for Lift to Drag ratios, while losing their return customers in low speed accidents. For return customers, why don't they try to improve the Life to Death ratios?

For some 40 years people have tried to 'grow the sport' and the numbers have declined. In that same time frame the number of general aviation licensed pilots have also declined, as well as the average disposable incomes.

How about a new plan; make a glider that can pass a 30 MPH crash test?

[Blindrodie]

The first thing I think of would be similar to the crash curtains in cars and the flak jacket that horseback riders/motorcyclists use.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2BtB8c8qWM

Lightweight, reusable and could be engineered into a harness, etc. PG folks should really dig that!!

8)

[Davis]

We just had a significant discussion about how the USHPA should support instructors.

[Blindrodie]

Doesn't have to be direct payment but what about discounts, lodging/meals, insurance subsidies, no membership fees, gear and stuff like that.

8)

[UnTuckable]

The first thing I think of would be similar to the crash curtains in cars and the flak jacket that horseback riders/motorcyclists use.

Lightweight, reusable and could be engineered into a harness, etc. PG folks should really dig that!!

8)

That might reduce injuries and fatal accidents. Even with that a pilot could bonk and get a concussion, and with the aged HG demographics their cognitive abilities might not fully recover to the point that they can fly again, or have a job, keep their drivers license, etc.

[BilleFly]

...

That might reduce injuries and fatal accidents. Even with that a pilot could bonk and get a concussion, and with the aged HG demographics their cognitive abilities might not fully recover to the point that they can fly again, or have a job, keep their drivers license, etc.

I'm an aging HG pilot ; but i take major care to avoid those cognitive disparities, by
landing before i get too tired , or too Cold. Realizing the limit of your abilities
is hard ; but if Ya don't , it could go Way Bad !

I wanna Fly Tomorrow ; ain't gonna happen if i'm Dead , is what i tell
myself on every flight. Do they Teach that ?

Bille

[Bill Pain]

It seems it is not just hang gliding but other sports like windsurfing, gliding and I am sure there are others.

I witnessed the beginning of the demise with the advent of the 5th gen glider. It was a wonderful leap forward at the time but we lost the super ease of flying that we were enjoying. An attempt to re-boot the sport with the floaters gave some respite but frankly the floaters are great for learning but rubbish for us to sky surf as we used to. Heavy bar pressures and stodgy handling give us little to show other than boating around like a bunch of old farts. So we fail to capture the imagination of the on looker. I worked with the late Colin Lark in bringing the Discovery Skyfloater to the market, keeping costs to a minimum with simple fittings and low cost airframe materials with a very tunable wing via a generous king post hang point that could be tuned down for beginners. "Market forces" seemed to dictate more expense and fancy stuff and so the less affordable wing was re-invented. Now we find ourselves in a situation where R&D is stiffled due to high C of A costs and a consequent lack luster manufacturers interest in working on new products.

Solutions? Perhaps some crowd funding to create an R&D foundation. I for one would put my hand up to give my time and experience gratis. I believe it is time to re-invent ourselves. I have experience of building and test flying from scratch over 20 different prototypes and have taken numerous gliders through full CofA and into production.