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Super Jenius
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Syracuse, NY
Posts: 3,491
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Any Hang Gliding Pelicans Out There
As it turns out, a buddy has a hang glider he's not using any longer (I have no idea what make/model) and it's mine if I want it. Now, upstate NY (really upstate, not Westchester County) has plenty of terrain for hang gliding, so I'm thinking of taking this contraption off his hands.
The Question -- how much instruction do you need/ should you have in order to throw yourself off of a perfectly functioning planet attached to a big kite? For the purposes of this question, assume I have no health insurance... JP
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2003 SuperCharged Frontier ../.. 1979 930 ../.. 1989 BMW 325iX ../.. 1988 BMW M5 ../.. 1973 BMW 2002 ../..1969 Alfa Boattail Spyder ../.. 1961 Morris Mini Cooper ../..2002 Aprilia RSV Mille ../.. 1985 Moto Guzzi LMIII cafe ../.. 2005 Kawasaki Brute Force 750 |
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04-05-2006, 09:22 PM
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B58/732
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Hot as Hell, AZ
Posts: 12,313
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Get training.
Jockey's Ridge in NC is a nice, easy place to start.
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ I don't always talk to vegetarians--but when I do, it's with a mouthful of bacon. |
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04-05-2006, 10:00 PM
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Feelin' Solexy
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: WA
Posts: 3,790
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There's a designated launch spot overlooking Lyme Rock...
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Grant In the stable: 1938 Buick Special model 41, 1963 Solex 2200, 1973 Vespa Primavera 125, 1974 Vespa Rally 200, 1986 VW Vanagon Syncro Westfalia, 1989 VW Doka Tristar, 2011 Pursuit 315 OS, 2022 Tesla Y Gone but not forgotten: 1973 VW Beetle, 1989 Porsche 944, 2008 R56 Mini Cooper S |
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04-06-2006, 05:56 AM
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Information Junky
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: an island, upper left coast, USA
Posts: 73,189
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No worries about health insurance . . . Those things can EASILY kill you.
. . .easy; and no reset button
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Everyone you meet knows something you don't. - - - and a whole bunch of crap that is wrong. Disclaimer: the above was 2¢ worth. More information is available as my professional opinion, which is provided for an exorbitant fee. 
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04-06-2006, 06:33 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: I'm out there.
Posts: 13,084
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We get amazing hang gliding injuries in the E.R. Broken femurs, wrists and hands. Our favorites are when flyers use a brace that lets them fly horizontal, like Superman. Whatever they hit, it will be headfirst. Darwin would have approved.
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My work here is nearly finished.
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04-06-2006, 08:21 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: I'm out there.
Posts: 13,084
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My work here is nearly finished.
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04-06-2006, 08:46 AM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: N. Phoenix AZ USA
Posts: 28,943
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Why not get it done right away. Find a highway overpass and jump off of it. Saves all the hassle of packing/unpacking and instruction and you can break half of your bones without wasting all the time!
Would not touch one for anything and I parachute for a hobby... Joe A
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2013 Jag XF, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB |
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04-06-2006, 09:03 AM
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MAGA
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 10,776
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While I will take powered vehicles over non powered most of the time, if someone "gave" me a hang glider and I lived in a hilly area, something tells me that I would have to give it a try (after thorough research and possible training of course). One can kill themselves doing just about any adventure or motor sport, nothing new about that. (what was that movie line?.... Live life, taste death!)
That said, even though I have whitewater kayaked, raced motocross, built and flew ultralights, skied dbl blacks etc etc, I can't get into the idea of parachuting for fun. I would always worry about the slight chance of the chute not opening. I guess i like adventure sports that rely more on my decision making rather than whether a chute fails. I will make myself do it someday when I finish my aerobatic plane just so I know I can do it someday if i need to.
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. Last edited by Tim Hancock; 04-06-2006 at 09:50 AM.. |
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04-06-2006, 09:38 AM
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Registered
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 574
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Well, I think hang gliding looks cool.
Seen ultralights in NW Indiana, and hang gliders on the dunes near Lake Michigan. Grew up in San Diego and went to college at UCSD and saw hang gliders up at Torrey Pines just about everyday. Doesn't seem unnecessarily dangerous. Probably like riding a motorcycle. Must be some teaching organization like Motorcycle Safety Foundation that could reduce the risk. BTW - My kids love the movie "Fly Away Home" - and if a kid can fly an ultralight from Canada to the US, I'm thinking a good dose of common sense with the weather, and a good teacher should make things safe enough. Last edited by RKC; 04-06-2006 at 09:43 AM.. |
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04-06-2006, 09:41 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Winston-Salem NC
Posts: 375
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JP,
Be sure to update us on whatever you do find out. One of my college prof's broke his entire face, left arm, shoulder, many ribs, and possibly a leg too after he hit a tree. He looked really good after 10 or 12 operations to repair everything. I asked him if he would ever consider doing it again and he said he would but his wife would kill him. I would love to try it sometime and there is a place about 30 min away where almost every weekend someone is hang gliding. He said it was as close to being a bird that you can imagine. I just always think of him hitting that tree and what it must have felt like to see it coming and know there wasn't anything you could do when I consider trying it. If someone were to give me one, I would find a local club, get the training and jump right into it. Have fun and be careful.
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Daniel 1988 Carrera Coupe (sold) 2012 Cayman |
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04-06-2006, 10:28 AM
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B58/732
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Hot as Hell, AZ
Posts: 12,313
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I'm telling ya, man. Go to Jockey's ridge. The sand ain't gonna hurt ya, and their flight school is fun.
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ I don't always talk to vegetarians--but when I do, it's with a mouthful of bacon. |
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04-06-2006, 10:49 AM
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: N. Phoenix AZ USA
Posts: 28,943
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Quote:
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2013 Jag XF, 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins (the workhorse), 1992 Jaguar XJ S-3 V-12 VDP (one of only 100 examples made), 1969 Jaguar XJ (been in the family since new), 1985 911 Targa backdated to 1973 RS specs with a 3.6 shoehorned in the back, 1959 Austin Healey Sprite (former SCCA H-Prod), 1995 BMW R1100RSL, 1971 & '72 BMW R75/5 "Toaster," Ural Tourist w/sidecar, 1949 Aeronca Sedan / QB |
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04-06-2006, 10:55 AM
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MAGA
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 10,776
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What's the matter Joe.... are you scared?
 Sorry, but a skydiver guy telling a hanglider guy that hangliding is too risky, cracks me up! I still think you are nuts for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes! 
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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04-06-2006, 11:05 AM
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MAGA
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 10,776
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Quote:
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German autos: '79 911 SC, '87 951, '03 330i, '08 Cayenne, '13 Cayenne 0% Liberal Men do not quit playing because they get old.... They get old because they quit playing. |
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04-06-2006, 11:30 AM
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Registered
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: AZ
Posts: 8,414
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Have to agree with Joe on this one. I have also been a skydiver for many years, and fly a tiny elliptical high performance canpoy that can kill you pretty easily. That said, I would never take up hang-gliding.
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04-06-2006, 12:44 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Mid-life crisis, could be anywhere
Posts: 10,382
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Count me as one of the skydivers that think you're crazy, JP. I'll do almost anything... and have... but there's no way I'd strap myself into one of those things. A few years ago I was watching them jump off of a cliff out near Lake Elsinore. Just watching them made me break into a cold sweat and I felt sick to my stomach. Truly nuts.
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'95 993 C4 Cabriolet Bunch of motorcycles |
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04-06-2006, 12:48 PM
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Banned
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 6,930
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I do not see what is nuts about it.
You jump off a cliff rather than jump out of an airplane. Either way you are still falling toward earth. |
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04-06-2006, 01:26 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Mid-life crisis, could be anywhere
Posts: 10,382
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The difference is that, believe it or not, skydiving is a mostly predictable process. The same events happen over and over, consistently. Hangliding has all sorts of other (dangerous) variables thrown in, like getting blown back into the mountain, equipment failure with no reserve, etc. I'm sure there are others that I have no knowledge about. No thanks!
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'95 993 C4 Cabriolet Bunch of motorcycles |
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04-06-2006, 02:18 PM
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Registered
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: I'm out there.
Posts: 13,084
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One of the more common injuries happens with a routine landing. Push the bar forward, the nose goes up and the glider "stalls", gently easing you to the ground.
Problem is, it's easy to misjudge. Stall too late and you get a high speed crash. Stall too early and you find yourself motionless and still 10 feet in the air. You pull the bar in to bring the nose down and get a high speed face plant. (Yes, I had a few very brief and inglorious flights with a glider in my youth.)
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My work here is nearly finished.
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04-06-2006, 02:26 PM
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B58/732
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Hot as Hell, AZ
Posts: 12,313
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Early flare is really funny when the "victim" is a short pudgy woman...running legs a blur in midair...still cracks me up today.
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ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ I don't always talk to vegetarians--but when I do, it's with a mouthful of bacon. |
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04-06-2006, 02:29 PM
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