Hang Gliders

In the 1960s and the early 1970s, many gliders were built that would now be considered dangerous. The first notable hang gliders were Icarus I and Icarus II, which were rigid biplane flying wing designs by Taras Kiceniuk, Jr. Icarus V was the precursor to the modern hang glider. It was essentially a monoplane version of the previous Icarus designs.

All of the hang gliders in the Icarus series had hand-controlled rudders and the pilot flew in a reclining position (rather than a prone position as with other hang gliders). Although many Icarus II and Icarus V gliders were built from plans sold by Kiceniuk, they were never commercially produced.

In 1978, the Atlas (La Mouette) entered the market. It resembled Icarus V but had a flexible wing and no rudders, and the pilot flew in a prone position. The Atlas had all of the safety elements that can still be found today.

Hang glider performance then increased rapidly. The first true 'double surface' hang glider was the UP "Comet" designed by Roy Haggard in 1980. Virtually all hang gliders over the next decade were refinements of the Comet.

The first hang glider without a keel pocket was the Wills Wing "HP" (1984). Bob Trampenau of Seedwings introduced the VG (variable geometry), which was copied on most other hang gliders. In the late 1990's the kingpost on top of the wing was removed to further increase the performance by reducing drag. These hang gliders are now called "topless gliders". Both topless and kingposted hang gliders belong to the family of "flex wings", because their frame and sail are a little flexible. This flexibility is required for the weight shift of the pilot to create small differences in the sail's billow, which in turn lets the hang glider turn to the right or to the left.

In parallel, the first commercially successful "rigid wing" came on the market (the "Exxtacy") with a leading edge of carbon fibre, which does not deform. The nose angle and wing span is a little higher, and the sail is rather stiff. This generation of gliders is controlled by spoilers typically on top of the wing, while the flex wings are still controlled by weight shift.

In both flexible and rigid wings the pilot hangs below the wing without any additional fairing. A third class of hang gliders exists (officially called Sub-Class O-2 by the FAI) where the pilot is integrated into the wing by means of a fairing. This offers the best performance and is the most expensive. All types of hang gliders can be foot-launched, while landing some class-2 hang gliders is only possible on wheels.