Keel: While the leading-edge tubes are on the outside and help form the triangular shape, the keel bisects the two tubes and forms the point of the triangle.Ĭrossbar: The crossbar connects the keel with the leading-edge tubes to provide support for the glider.Ĭontrol Bar: Similar to how a steering wheel operates, the small, triangular-shaped tube called the control bar is used to maneuver the glider. The control bar is connected at a right angle beneath the keel and the crossbar. Leading-Edge Tubes: Two of these are needed and are what make up the triangle-type shape of the glider. The tubes are placed on the outside of the glider and help provide support outside the glider. It consists of different structures that make up the skeleton and structure of the glider.Īluminum tubes: These are aircraft grade and make up the skeleton of the glider. They provide support for the glider and the pilot as well. One was 30 metres above, another 30 metres below and one off to the side.The hang glider, also known as the flexible wing, is the main piece of equipment in hang gliding. Suddenly, three jets from the Red Arrows, the British formation flying team, flew past. He was just able to see the coast of France and was thinking he would get to France when he heard a vague rumble in the distance. This allowed him to fly out to sea and fly well out over the English Channel. Some ladies spilled their tea when they looked out of their penthouse apartment to see Patrick swooping past only a few metres from their balcony.Ī little later, he managed to get into thermal winds off the sea, which is very rare. Once, he was flying off Beachy Head (300 m white chalk cliffs) in England on a very light wind day and he had some amazing lift that allowed him to fly into Eastbourne and soar over tall apartment buildings. Patrick has had some interesting experiences hang-gliding. He is the hang-gliding safety officer for the Auckland Hang Gliding and Paragliding Club. He now trains others to fly hang-gliders and takes people for flights in tandem.

Patrick has flown hang-gliders both in New Zealand and in other countries, including flying alongside condors in the Andes mountain ranges of South America. He said it looked like fun and just had to do it. Patrick has always been interested in flight and was intrigued when hang-gliding first started. Many people enjoy the thrill of flying a hang-glider – Patrick Monro, director of Aqua Air Adventure, is no exception. Meet Patrick Monro – passionate about hang-gliders This turns them into microlights and means they can take off and climb from flat ground just like a normal aircraft. Some hang-glider pilots attach small motors and propellers to their hang-gliders. If there is a stronger breeze, the glider will start gaining altitude. For example, if a glider is flying over a vertical coastal cliff and there is a light breeze blowing in directly from the sea and the air is being forced vertically upwards by the cliff at 3.6 km/h, the hang-glider can fly along the cliff without losing height. In order to not lose height, a hang-glider must find air going up as fast as the glider is descending. A hang-glider descends at the rate of about 1 metre per second (a slow walking pace of about 3.6 km/h). If the air is still, it will slowly descend. The aerofoil is then drawn up into the area of low pressure, producing lift. Meanwhile, the downward and forward motion of the wing compresses the air flowing under the wing. The aerofoil forces the air flowing over the top of the wing to travel faster, thereby ‘stretching’ it to produce a low-pressure area. The aerofoil shape of the wing stops the hang-glider from dropping like a stone. The weight produces the thrust that keeps the aerofoil moving through the air.

This is the weight of the pilot and the wing. Gravity is the main force on a hang-glider. It has to be launched from somewhere high like a hill or mountain. Since a hang-glider is unpowered, it can’t take off from low ground.

Hang glider