page_title: Hang gliding
section_title: Performance
hierarchical_section_title: Hang gliding / Performance
caption_attribution_description: English: Photographed by and copyright of (c) David Corby (User:Miskatonic, uploader) 2006
context_page_description: Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered with synthetic sailcloth to form a wing. Typically the pilot is in a harness suspended from the airframe, and controls the aircraft by shifting body weight in opposition to a control frame.
  Early hang gliders had a low lift-to-drag ratio, so pilots were restricted to gliding down small hills. By the 1980s this ratio significantly improved, and since then pilots can soar for hours, gain thousands of feet of altitude in thermal updrafts, perform aerobatics, and glide cross-country for hundreds of kilometers. The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale and national airspace governing organisations control some regulatory aspects of hang gliding. Obtaining the safety benefits of being instructed is highly recommended and indeed a mandatory requirement in many countries.
context_section_description: With each generation of materials and with the improvements in aerodynamics, the performance of hang gliders has increased. One measure of performance is the glide ratio. For example, a ratio of 12:1 means that in smooth air a glider can travel forward 12 metres while only losing 1 metre of altitude.
  Some performance figures as of 2006:
  Topless gliders (no kingpost): glide ratio ~17:1, speed range ~30–145 km/h (19–90 mph), best glide at 45–60 km/h (28–37 mph)
  Rigid wings: glide ratio ~20:1, speed range ~35–130 km/h (22–81 mph), best glide at ~50–60 km/h (31–37 mph). .
  Ballast
  The extra weight provided by ballast is advantageous if the lift is likely to be strong. Although heavier gliders have a slight disadvantage when climbing in rising air, they achieve a higher speed at any given glide angle. This is an advantage in strong conditions when the gliders spend only little time climbing in thermals.
caption: Hang glider launching from Mount Tamalpais
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