Class 2 hang gliders are also footlaunchable and landable but they use control surfaces to control the wing. These are wings that are rigid in nature, normally made of Carbon/Kevlar composites. |
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Class 3 hang gliders are paragliders. These are gliders that are foot launchable and landable but with no rigid structure in the wing. They work on ram air pressure to keep the wing inflated, this gives the wing its aerofoil shape. |
People will be surprised to learn that pilots go on extended cross country flights, doing distances of 100 to 200km. Most pilots with moderate cross country skills regularly fly 60 - 100km just for fun. The South African hang gliding open distance record is 395 km. This flight was done in November of 1998 by Frank Jaschinski, one of the best pilots in the country. This is straight line distance from take off point to landing point. (As the crow flies). This flight is still way short of the world record of 700km flown in Zapata, Texas, USA by legendary pilot, Manfred Ruhmer. |
In the old days this used to be the yard stick for pilots. It was the flight of the week if you stayed up for more than a minute. Today pilots can virtually stay up for as long as there is sufficient lift to keep the pilot in the air. It has become relatively easy for pilots to stay up all day and fly right through the night! Because of the hazards involved with flying at night and with the added fatigue that seriously hampers a pilots skill and judgement calls, these records are no longer recognised. The last recorded endurance flight was over 35 hours! On average pilots stay up between ten minutes to five or six hours. The SA distance record took 6H30 to do and the world record just over 10 hours! |
In South Africa we have been granted permission by the Commission of Civil Aviation to fly up to 19500 ft above sea level in uncontrolled airspace. Generally pilots climb to 12 to 16000ft asl in thermal lift, spending time at around 6- 8 000ft above ground. The world altitude gain record was setup in Kuruman, in the North Western Cape in SA, with a gain of 15400 ft. to just over 19 000ft. Basically on any given day if you see cumulous clouds around then it is almost always possible to climb to the base of the clouds in thermal lift. Climb rates vary from weak at around 1m/s to very strong at 10m/s! (Now that would be a thermal that is worth telling your Mamma about!) |
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There are various certification standards to which all hang gliders must be certified. Some old hang gliders do not have these certification placards and should be avoided. These are usually found on the frame of the glider near the rear. These tests include structural strength loadings of a minimum of 6 G's positive and 3 G's negative load tests. Hang gliders are generally much stronger than that and boasts an unequalled weight to strength ratio in the aviation industry. |
All ground based schools use a method of self discovery for training. The instructor is there to guide you through the training process but you do all the flying by yourself. You start on flat ground and learn basic control of the glider and then slowly move up the slope, mastering each stage of the learning process before progressing to the next. This training process lasts from 6 to 10 days. Aero towing training is another advanced technique and uses a tandem glider allowing the instructor to fly with you. Normally you are towed to 2000ft above ground behind a micro light, from were you get the chance to pilot the hang glider under the guidance of your instructor. This is a more costly but very effective way of training. |
A modern hang glider compares very well with the performance of that of large birds. The wing loadings are much the same and many times we have flown side by side with our real bird counterparts. The big advantage they still have is we can't flap our wings when there is no lift around! The glide ratio of a top performing class 1 hang glider is 14/1. This means for every 14 units traveled forward one unit is traveled down. For class 2 hang gliders it is usually more but the down side is the weight, ease of transport and use, and costs involved. They vary from 15/1 to the Swift wing that boasts an impressive 25/1 glide! The best Sinkrates are in the 140ft/min to 180ft/min range. (1 to 0.7m/s.) Speed envelope varies anything between 20km/hour for stall speed to 140km/h max speed for class 1 hang gliders. |
South Africa is blessed with an abundance of mountains and where ever there is a good road to the top chances are at some time, pilots have flown from there! The most popular flying sites in South Africa are Hartebeespoort dam, Sir Lowries pass and Signal hill or Lions head near Cape Town and Dolphin point in Wilderness on the Cape South coast. On most weekends there will be some pilots around especially if the weather is good! The wind must be coming up the mountain and when ever this happens you will find the pilots heading to the mountains! It is a good idea to contact your nearest school/club for more information on the exact location of flying in your area. |
Competitions involve racing on a predetermined route. For Example: A task of 80 km will be called to a nearby town and the pilot who completes the task in the shortest possible time will be the winner. Sometimes there are multiple turn-points making a task into an out and return or triangle flight. Competition flying is made even more interesting because of the changing weather conditions that occur throughout the day. A Pilot setting of early might run into an area with very little lift because of the ground being wet from previous rain. Pilots launching later might fly over these areas after the sun has warmed it sufficiently for good thermals to form. So the variables become endless. It is allot more than just a race, pitting your skill and knowledge to find the best that mother nature has to offer. For world reports on flying and competitions, this is a fantastic link! http://www.davisstraub.com/OZ |
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| South Africa has four Inter-provincial and one National competition. Our next National Championship is probably set for the northern Magalies berg. This will most probably be a aero towing competition but there are movements underfoot for a mauntain launch competition at Porterville in the Western Cape. Try contacting SAHPA for latest venues. |
| Where can I learn to hang glide? | Phone Johan Anderson on 083 229 2919. or 044 877 1076 (Wilderness, Western Cape South Africa.) or send email to wefly@iafrica.com |
Have you got any comments? Do you want to send in a story, picture or video that you want to share with us? Contact Johan Anderson at wefly@iafrica.com
Up dated on 2007-12-03
