Home (contents) → Chronology → Hang gliding 1996 to 2014

Hang gliding 1996 to 2014

This page continues from Hang gliding 1994 and 1995.

Some images on this page are my artistic derivations of contemporary photos. See Copyright of early hang gliding photos.

Pilot training in North Carolina. Photo by John E.

Kitty Hawk Kites, based in North Carolina near where the Wrights first flew their powered aircraft, is almost certainly the world’s longest established hang gliding school. See the Kitty Hawk Kites page.

Dennis Pagen's advert in Hang Gliding, June 1997 featuring Ursula Edwards — Dennis Pagen’s advert in *Hang Gliding*, June 1997

As well as posing for adverts, Ursula Edwards carried out hang glider flight test reviews for Hang Gliding magazine. I blurred out the address because it is no longer valid. However, if you Google “Dennis Pagen hang gliding books”, you are sure to find his web site. Alternatively, see under External link on the Dennis Pagen related topics menu.

Bob Rouse flight testing his Dimorph pteron hang glider in 1997 — Bob Rouse flight testing his Dimorph pteron in 1997

There are more photos of Bob Rouse’s gliders in his book Selected Works 1982 to 1998. For additional images based on his work, see under Art for art’s sake in Hang gliding early 1980s part 2. Bob left the world of hang gliding and went on to found an eco-village, which is thriving as of 2019. (Source: E-mail correspondence.)

Red Bull photo of John Heiney looping an Ultralight Products TRX hang glider — Red Bull photo of John Heiney looping an Ultralight Products TRX

Mark Vaughn photo of an Airwave K5 hang glider launching — Mark Vaughn photo of an Airwave K5 launching

Chris Wills and his daughter Kelly. Photo by Joe Alendifer.

That looks like a standard Rogallo that Kelly is not attached to in this gathering of vintage hang gliders at the beach in 2000. Chris was the first ever US hang gliding champion. The glider behind looks to me like a Seagull of the late 1970s judging by its parabolic curved leading edge tube.

See also the Sport Kites/Wills Wing of California related topics menu.

'Topless' hang glider at Torrey Pines, San Diego, in 2000. Photo by paraglider pilot Nick Greece. — ‘Topless’ hang glider at Torrey Pines, San Diego, in 2000. Photo by paraglider pilot Nick Greece.

Flex-wing hang gliders without a king post and top rigging started to become popular around the turn of the century. Strength in the negative-G sense is provided by structure inside the wing. See also the Torrey Pines page.

Nevertheless, some of us prefer a glider with top rigging.

Back to basics

“I like submarine commanders. They don’t have time for bullshit. And neither do I.”

— President Roosevelt played by Jon Voight in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor

Dennis Pagen's advert in Hang Gliding, May 2001 featuring Mitch Shipley — Dennis Pagen’s advert in *Hang Gliding*, May 2001

I blurred out the web site and e-mail addresses because they are no longer valid. However, if you Google “Dennis Pagen hang gliding books”, you are sure to find his web site. Alternatively, see under External link on the Dennis Pagen related topics menu.

Hellite Tsunami rigid hang glider at Combe Gibbet, Berkshire, England, in 2006

Rigid hang gliders have greater performance than flexwings and they are physically less effort to fly, but they are more complex. Because the wing is rigid (unlike a flexwing) it uses aerodynamic controls for roll control rather than weight shift.

Rigid hang glider launching at Westbury (no larger image available)

This photo by Justin Parsons of a rigid wing launching at Westbury shows the airfoil section.

Two hang gliders flying in formation at Bell Hill, Dorset, England, in 2002 — Flying in formation with Gary Dear at Bell Hill, Dorset, England, in 2002

This might not appear to be any kind of flying in formation. When I review my photos the evening after such a flight, I wonder what happened to the photos I took when wingtip to wingtip with another glider. The camera seems to send the other glider off into the distance. Air to air photography is a high art that this author has not mastered.

Novelist Vaughn Entwistle flying a hang glider at Rampart Ridge in the Cascades — Vaughn Entwistle flying Rampart Ridge

This photo, taken in 2008 when he lived in the Pacific northwest USA, is of novelist Vaughn Entwistle flying an early Wills Wing Sport 2 in the Cascades. He kept the glider on his van and drove it to work every day. After work, he and a friend headed to Rampart Ridge to fly.

Vaughn’s web site (linked farther down this page) showcases his painstakingly researched Paranormal Casebooks, which feature Scotsman Dr. Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories) and Irish playwright Oscar Wilde.

Cross-country

On the way to the coast in a hang glider in 2011 — The author on the way to the coast in 2011

This photo was taken aboard an Airborne 154 Sting 3 during a 17-mile cross-country flight in Dorset, southern England. It took more than an hour of mostly circling in thermals. Then nearly five hours of walking, hitching rides, and driving to retrieve everything and get home…

Club safety officer Richard Mosely makes a low pass in front of the ridge in 2013 — Club safety officer Richard Mosley makes a low pass in front of the ridge in 2013

The AIR (Germany) ATOS is a popular rigid hang glider.

Hang glider in flight photo by Brian Ellison — By way of contrast, in colour at least, this is based on a photo by Brian Ellison.

Wills Wing U-2 hang glider over a village in north Dorset in 2015 — The author in a Wills Wing U-2 over a village in north Dorset in 2015

Steve Whitfield (Wills Wing U-2) chases a lift marker at Bell Hill, north Dorset, in July 2014

Hang glider flying at Monk's Down, north Dorset, England, in 2016 — “This field is nearly big enough for me to land in.” The author at Monk’s Down, north Dorset, England, in 2016.

This topic continues in Hang gliding 2015 to 2019.

External links

Hanggliding, a Girls Sport by MoyesLSS on YouTube

Into the Sky, 2010, a documentary by François Isoard about hang gliding in Namibia

SCENE & HERD at the Kagel LZ in the 21st Century (2000-2003): An uncommonly well made video on YouTube by the late Wayne Yentis, who was a professional film sound technician.

Vaughn Entwistle web site, showcasing his painstakingly researched Paranormal Casebooks