If you want to try the thrill of flight and at the same time carry out a healthy and original sport, the hang glider is the best choice. A means for pleasure flying, the hang glider is available to fans of all ages and social conditions thanks to its low purchase and maintenance costs. Even if it is not "fashionable" anymore like the practical paraglider, the hang glider is still used in major pleasure flying competitive contests. It is the only means that is guided in the air by the weight of the pilot, who ideally represents the center of gravity of the entire flight structure.
The first person to fly on a hang glider was Otto Lilienthal, but it was only in 1951 that the Californian aeronautical engineer, Melvin Rogallo, built the first prototype of the modern hang glider. Three are the manoeuvres that the hang glider must always carry out, three simple movements that even a beginner can carry out: pushing the control bar forward in order to nose up, lateral movements in order to change directions and pulling of the control bar towards the body for landing.
Depending on atmospheric conditions, the hang glider can enjoy at least three types of flight. They include: glide, a type of flight directly proportional to the height difference between the point of take off and point of landing; thermal gliding, using the same aerodynamic and thermal conditions used by gliders, is based on different temperature thermals felt only when gaining height, allowing the pilot to glide hundreds of kilometers but only at the base of clouds and drops in oxygen; and the dynamic gliding, directly connected to winds.
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