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Hang gliders and foot-launched flight

9 articles

Flexible wing

A flexible wing is an aircraft wing whose shape is set by aerodynamic loads against its own elasticity, from Rogallo hang glider wings to flexible transport flaps.

Hang gliding

Hang gliding, also known as deltaplane, is an air sport in which a pilot foot-launches an unpowered fabric wing and controls flight by shifting body weight against a control bar.

History of hang gliding

The history of hang gliding spans more than 120 years of foot-launched flight, from Otto Lilienthal's pioneering gliders in the 1890s to the sport's explosive growth after 1963.

NASA Paresev

The NASA Paresev was an unpowered paraglider test vehicle flown at Edwards Air Force Base from 1962 to 1964 to test Rogallo wings for landing Gemini capsules on land.

Paragliding

Paragliding, also known as parapente, is a recreational and competitive air sport in which a pilot flies an engineless, foot-launched fabric wing suspended from a harness.

Paramotor

A paramotor, also called a powered paraglider, is a backpack engine and propeller worn while flying a paraglider wing, foot-launched from a short strip of grass.

Powered paragliding

Powered paragliding, also called paramotoring, is ultralight aviation in which a pilot flies a paraglider wing with a backpack motor, taking off from level ground.

Rogallo wing

The Rogallo wing, also called the Parawing, is a flexible fabric wing invented by Francis and Gertrude Rogallo in 1948 that became the basis of hang gliding.

Wingsuit flying

Wingsuit flying, also called wingsuiting or wingsuit gliding, is an air sport in which a skydiver glides in a fabric-winged jumpsuit before opening a parachute, from aircraft or fixed objects.