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BEGINNING THROUGH ADVANCED HANG GLIDING LESSONS
| John's Syllabus | USHPA Pilot Proficiency Program | Order Traning Manual From USHPA |
Hang gliding is the best thing I have found to do with my time. I could write pages trying to explain it, but I feel that is unnecessary. Like a religion, the people who need it find their way to it by their own means, for their own reasons.
The most cogent statement I have read on the topic is from one of free-flight's eariliest pioneers: Leonardo Da Vinci. There is much debate as to whether Da Vinci's experimentation ever resulted in his actually taking flight. This quote from his notes might be the best evidence that he did fly:
"Once you have tasted flight your eyes will be turned forever skyward; for there you have been, and there you will always long to return".
Another quote from a later innovator who we know spoke from experience is this one which I first saw on the back cover of a catalog from Eipper-Formance (an early U.S. hang glider manufacturer):
"The indefinable pleasure experienced in soaring high in the air, rocking above sunny slopes without jar or noise, accompanied only by the music issuing from the wires of the apparatus, is well worth the task of becomming an expert".
Otto Lilienthal 1893
Learning to hang glide has its risk. Any activity in which you are in motion where there are objects to run into is hazardous. A hang glider flies at a minimum speed of 20 miles per hour. It is possible to get injured or killed hang gliding. Otto Lilienthal was fatally injured during his experimentation.
We understand a great deal more about flying and flight safety today than the flyers in the infancy of aviation 110 years ago. The hang gliding teaching methods of today are vastly improved over just 25 years ago largely by result of U.S. Hang Gliding Association programs.
Of the estimated ten thousand hang glider pilots in the U.S. about ten fatal accidents occur per year.
If you need to learn to fly, call or E-mail to arrange lessons. You can schedule a lesson weeks in advance if you wish, but I usually do not need such advanced notice. One or two days notice usually works for me. I have been known to do a lesson on only hours notice.
I can teach any day of the week. Weekends are fine as well.
A lesson usually consists of the 3 to 4 hours before sunset so we have smooth air in which to learn. I will carry the glider up the hill for you as many times as I can, so you do not get too tired before the day is over. Conserving your energy in this way can mean the difference between getting 25 to 30 flights in a lesson rather than 10 flights.
Learning to fly is work. Expect a physical workout on the training hill. Wear light-weight sports or hiking shoes. Bring a jacket. It will get cool at sunset. You will be tired at the end of the day. We will stop when you are too tired to make strong launch runs, or at any time you so wish.
But do not think of it as hard work. I remember my training hill days as some of the most fun and rewarding of my life. After all, we get to fly!
It is un-natural for a human to fly. Your brain will need to change from two-dimentional thought to three-dimentional thought. Most people who want to do it, can. Some cannot.
It is best to do as many lessons per week as possible. You learn better by frequent repetition of flights. You should try to do a minimum of one lesson per week in order to retain what you learn and make meaningful progress. Generally a person needs to do about 100 take-offs and landings on the training hill before progressing to your first mountain flight.
Fall, Winter, and Spring are the best for beginner training. Summer can be too turbulent. If you must learn in the summer we can go to a beach sand dune where the air will be smooth even in the summer. If you intend to start your training soon, you should get a trianing manual and start reading the first few chapters.
Bob Kuczewski took some photos of a student and I working on his take-offs and landings at the training hill.
My Beginner Hang Gliding Syllabus should answer many of your questions regarding lessons.
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