Hang gliding provides one of the most amazing airborne experiences you can ever have. It is no wonder that most people dream of riding Hang gliders one day. However, like almost every air-borne adventure, there is a fear factor that is associated with hang gliding. This can be attributed to the hang gliding accident stories we have heard over the years.
Unfortunately, this has led a lot to question the safety of riding hang gliders and whether the amazing experience hang gliding offers is worth the potential risk involved in riding it. Has this question ever crossed your mind or are you looking forward to trying out hang gliding? If so, then you should definitely give this article a read.
Hang gliders are quite safe to ride. However, like any other aviation sports, riding a hang glider has a significant degree of risk associated with it. This is because flying hang gliders is done over dangerous terrains. In addition, occasionally, it is subject to demanding and unfavorable weather conditions. Due to these, there is always the potential of riders crashing their hang glider or an accident occurring.
What Are Hang Gliders?
A hang glider is a non-motorized air vehicle that comes with a distinctive large triangular-shaped kite. This kite is usually made from thick synthetic polyester. This triangular shape improves the aerodynamic ability and speed of the hang glider whiles riding. A hang glider has a metallic frame which is made of aluminium alloy and other metals. It is designed to have a hanging strap that is connected to the frame of the glider. This is where the pilot suspends horizontally whiles riding.
A hand glider is used to ride air currents, at high altitudes. To control a hand glider, the pilot needs to shift his weight relative to that of the glider. He does this by moving forward, backward, and side to side with the aim of altering his center of gravity. Doing this results in the glider moving in the direction of the pilot’s motion. It also allows the pilot to turn and control the speed of the glider as well. A hang glider is used for both sporting and recreational purposes.
The Danger Associated with Hang Gliding: Weather Conditions
Hang gliding is not entirely risk-free. There is a degree of danger associated with it. The main danger associated with hang gliding is bad weather conditions. This is no different from other forms of aviation. As I mentioned earlier, hang gliders move by making use of rising currents of air. Therefore, bad weather conditions are equivalent to unsafe flying conditions.
Unsafe flying conditions have the potential to cause accidents during hang gliding. Unfortunately, due to how riders position themselves horizontally on a hang glider, any accident which results in a head-on collision with the ground or with any hard object may result in head injury or even death. Hang glider injuries can result in broken bones and equipment as well.
Hang gliders can fly normally on winds with speeds of up to 30mph. However, wind speeds above 30mph are typically unpleasant and too turbulent for hang gliders to fly in. These winds are too strong for hang gliders as well. Thus, the ideal wind condition for flying hang gliders is one with a light breeze. One thing I should add is, that though wind speeds of up to 30 mph are ideal for hang gliding, beginner pilots can struggle with wind speeds greater than 20 mph.
Despite the dangers associated with hang gliding, there are lots of measures that are put in place to reduce the occurrence of these accidents. The primary measure that has been adopted in the United States is that, hang gliding pilots must pass an airworthiness test certification by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Association (HGMA) before they can be allowed to pilot.
Additionally, most flying sites and property owners will not allow you to launch or land on their property without this airworthiness test certification.
How Often Do Hang Glider Accidents Occur?
Many years ago, hang glider accidents were a frequent occurrence. Thankfully that is no longer the case today. This change can be attributed to advancements in technology as well as the emphasis on safety. In recent years, the rate at which hang gliding accidents occur has reduced significantly and many of these accidents are not fatal as well.
Hang gliding records less than 3 fatalities per year. This is not surprising since the risk of being killed through hang gliding is about 1 out of 2000. According to statistics from the United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (USHPA), in the year 2020 there were 21 reported hang gliding accidents.
Some of the few accidents that have occurred from hang gliding have been caused by pilot judgment errors. In the aviation industry, any error can easily result in an accident. Thus, many have sustained injuries and broken bones from hang gliding accidents.
The rest of the accident that have occurred resulted from bad weather conditions such as high wind speeds and poor visibility. I have spoken about wind speeds earlier in this article. This article about hot air balloons clearly explains how poor visibility affects air travel. You should give it a read.
Do Hang Gliders Wear Parachutes?
Parachutes are one of the most essential accessories hang gliders must wear whiles hang gliding. They are standard hang gliding equipment. This is because they come in handy when you suffer any form of misfortune that makes you lose control of your hang glider.
In such moments, deploying the parachute will cause it to float above the above the rider and the entire hang glider. When this happens, the parachute will carry the rider and hang gliders gently through the air until they land softly on the ground. There are lots of instances where parachutes have significantly reduced the severity of hang gliding accidents that have occurred.
You can read about how parachutes came to the rescue of hang gliders in this article. Therefore, wearing a parachute is necessary if you intend to go parachute riding.
Watch this video to get a practical demonstration of a parachute being deployed during an emergency whiles hang gliding.
Do You Need a Medical to Fly a Hang Glider?
The truth is, you do not need any form of medical or license from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) before you can fly a hang glider. However, before you start out flying a hang glider, you need to get adequate instructions that will set you out on the way.
Fortunately, there are quite a number of USHPA-certified hang gliding schools and instructors that you can learn from. If you are in search of a USHPA-certified hang gliding school or instructors, you can check out this page.
As I mentioned earlier, hang glider pilots do not need to by licensed by the FAA licensing as well. That notwithstanding, lots of flying sites across the United States require that hang glider pilots have some level of USHPA rating before they will be allowed to fly. In fact, most landowners will not allow you to launch or even land on their properties if you do not have this rating from the USHPA. This USHPA rating rates how proficient a hang glider pilot’s flying ability is.
One thing you should note is that virtually everyone is capable of flying hang gliders. This is because flying a hang glider does not require great strength. Thus, as a rule of thumb, anyone who is capable of balancing weight of about 50 – 70 lb on their shoulders whiles jogging can learn how to fly the hang glider. Though flying a hang glider does not require great strength, it requires some level of upper body endurance and balancing. Fortunately, upper body endurance is usually developed as riding training progress.
Therefore, if you desire to learn how to fly a hang glider, you should acquire these standardized hang gliding instructions and training that will equip you with the relevant knowledge and skill to enable you to fly a glider.
Conclusion
In summary, there is some amount of risk associated with hang gliding. However, getting proper training and instruction from a good hang gliding instructor or school will reduce the risk of you being involved in an accident. Also, putting on safety gear such as crash helmets, knee & elbow protection and parachutes will significantly minimize the occurrence and impact of the injuries you may get whiles hang gliding. Additionally, you need to pay close attention to weather details and forecasts before you set off to hang glide. All these will help keep you safe whiles hang gliding.
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