What Are the Sports of Hang Gliding, Paragliding, and Speedflying?

Trying to describe the feeling of flying a hang glider is almost impossible. It’s everything you think it would be (and probably more). A recent student summed it up like this: “I’ve had dreams of flying my whole life. Hang gliding is the closest thing I’ve found to matching that feeling in my dreams. It’s the best thing I have ever done.” Or as Leonardo da Vinci said,

Once you have tasted flight, you will walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you long to return.

Hang gliders have evolved from Francis Rogallo’s original flexible wing (as described in the History) into modern day flying marvels. Hang gliders are now made of aircraft aluminum or carbon fiber, stainless steel cable and Dacron (the same material sailboat sails are made of) and weigh between 45 lbs. and 90 lbs. Although gliders normally fly between 20 and 30 mph, they can reach speeds in excess of 80 mph and have a glide ratio of up to 16:1. That means they fly 16 feet forward for every foot of altitude they lose when flying in calm air. Hang gliders can withstand more G-forces than many single engine aircraft and can be folded up into a bag that is 16’-18’ long and a foot in diameter and easily transported on the roof of a car. Pilots' prone position when flying gives hang gliding the feeling of flying like a bird.

With paragliding and speedflying, all the equipment fits in a backpack weighing anywhere from 25-50 pounds (or lighter!) depending on your equipment choices. This is the most practical type of aviation on the planet. Everything you need to fly fits in your backpack, which you can check onto a plane or put in the trunk of your car as you travel. The lightweight kits make it very accessible to hike to launches. Like other aviation, paragliding and speedflying are dependent on weather, maturity and judgment, and the pilot’s ability to make good decisions.

The key differences between hang gliding, paragliding, and speedflying:

• Transport: Hang gliders typically weigh more than 50 pounds, can be carried balanced on your shoulder, and require a roof rack to transport on a vehicle; paragliders and speedwings typically weigh less than 50 pounds, are carried in a backpack, and can fit inside a vehicle.
• Set-up: Hang gliders fold up for transport and take about 15 to 20 minutes to set up and prepare to launch; paragliders and speedwings are packed completely assembled and take about 5 to 10 minutes to set-up and prepare to launch.
• Flight: Hang gliders are more streamlined and are capable of much faster speeds, improved glide ratios, and the ability to fly in stronger conditions as compared to paragliders; due to their slower speed, paragliders can typically land in much smaller fields. Hang gliders and paragliders are more focused on soaring flights at altitude, while speedwings are used for flying quickly and close to terrain.

In order to fly for hours and for long distances a glider needs to be able to gain altitude or, at a minimum, maintain altitude. This is a challenge since hang gliders and paragliders do not have engines. Like a giant paper airplane, once airborne, a glider is constantly being pulled down toward the ground by gravity. The only way to combat this is to get the glider into air that is rising faster than the glider is descending. The result will be that the glider is able to gain altitude or at least maintain its altitude. There are two different ways this can happen. The first is by circling the glider in a thermal, which is a column of warm rising air. The other is by flying the glider in “ridge lift” which is created when wind hits an obstruction like a mountain or hill and gets deflected up the face of it. As long as the glider stays in the upward moving air it will stay aloft, but as soon as it flies out of the upward moving air, the glider will start to gently descend again. Circling with a bird in a thermal or flying over a local mountain range is an experience that will never be forgotten.

Speedflying is an exhilarating air sport that combines elements of paragliding, skydiving, and often skiing. It involves flying small, highly maneuverable wings at high speeds close to the ground, typically down mountainsides.

The sport originated in the early 2000s, evolving from paragliding and parachute swooping. French pilot François Bon designed the first commercial speed wing, the Gin Nano, which helped popularize the activity. Along with Antoine Montant, Bon pioneered extreme descents, including speed riding (speedflying on skis) down the North Face of the Eiger.

Speedflying uses specialized equipment, including:

• Small wings (7-14 m²) with large cells and short lines for increased speed and maneuverability
• Lightweight, non-bulky harnesses

The sport can be divided into two main disciplines:

1. Speedflying: Foot-launched flying with a speed wing
2. Speedriding: Flying with skis, combining skiing and flying

To safely practice speedflying, pilots often start by learning paragliding to develop a solid understanding of flight dynamics and meteorology. The sport is usually performed in calm conditions during sunrise or sunset to minimize turbulence.

There are many different manners in which hang gliding, paragliding and speedflying can be pursued. There are those who enjoy simple top of the hill to bottom of the hill sled rides. Some enjoy soaring in smooth ridge lift. There are those who want to gain thousands of feet of altitude and fly long distances while other enjoy the thrill of proximity to the ground swooping.