the.com/hangglider
a fabric wing that turns gravity into a polite suggestion you can argue with.
means A hangglider is an unpowered aircraft consisting of a lightweight rigid frame stretched with fabric, from which a pilot hangs in a harness and steers by shifting their body weight.
from A transparent compound of plain English parts: 'hang,' from Old English 'hangian' (to be suspended), describing exactly what the pilot does beneath the wing, plus 'glider,' from 'glide' — Old English 'glidan,' to move smoothly and without effort, the same root that lets ice and birds and snakes slide through the world. The word arrived with the sport itself in the latter half of the 20th century, when flexible-wing designs made foot-launched flight practical, and it simply names what you see: a person hanging from something that glides.
- flight record
- Cross-country flights exceed 700 kilometers
- no engine
- Pure rising air keeps it aloft for hours
- top speed
- Modern wings hit over 130 km/h
- launch
- Pilots run off cliffs on foot
- origin
- NASA's 1960s spacecraft wing inspired the design
ottowa river hang gliding — location in canada where enthusiasts regularly fly from cliffs along the river
killarney hang gliding club — active club in ireland established 1978, operates from brandon mountain and other irish sites