This depends a lot on the conditions in which it is flown, but flights in excess of 300 miles in length and altitudes of well over 20,000 ft. MSL have been recorded. More typically, pilots in the summer frequently achieve altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 ft AGL and fly for over 100 miles.

This depends a lot on the conditions, but flight distances in excess of 300 miles and altitudes of more than 18,000 feet have been recorded. The thermals in the summer in the western United States are particularly powerful and pilots can often reach altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 feet and fly over 100 miles.

Hang gliders are designed to soar. The duration record is over 11 hours and the distance record is over 300 kilometers. In training you will start out just skimming the ground. As you progress and become more skilled and confident you will probably want to go higher and use the wing for its designed purpose -- soaring! Average recreational pilots, utilizing thermal and ridge lift, routinely stay aloft for 3 hours or more, soar to altitudes of 15,000' and travel cross-country for great distances.

A Hang Glider has a rigid frame maintaining the shape of the wing, with the pilot usually flying in a prone (lying down) position. The Paraglider canopy shape is maintained only by air pressure and the pilot is suspended in a sitting or supine position. The Hang-glider has a "cleaner" aerodynamic profile and generally is capable of flying at much higher speeds than a Paraglider. Hang Gliders pack down to about 12 ft long and are capable of being transported on car roof-racks.

Our modern light weight training gliders weigh about 50 pounds and with just a little bit of wind, they weigh nothing at all.

There are a number of ways, but they include using a static line, a payout winch, a stationary winch or aerotow.

A hang glider has a rigid frame maintaining the shape of the wing, with the pilot usually flying in a prone position. The Paraglider canopy shape is maintained only by air pressure and the pilot is suspended in a sitting or supine position. Hang gliders fly at much faster speeds than a Paraglider.

Hang gliding is one of the simplest forms of human flight. A hang glider is a non-motorized, foot-launched wing. A Hang glider has a rigid frame maintaining the shape of the wing, with the pilot usually flying in a prone position. The hang glider wing is constructed of rip-stop nylon or mylar over an aluminum frame. Hang gliders are controlled by shifting the pilot's weight with respect to the glider.

The radio control system has a range of one half mile to two miles, depending on the terrian, he weather, who you ask, etc. But practically speaking, the helicopter becomes a tiny speck at 100 yards or more. If you can't see it clearly, you can't fly it properly. If you can't fly it carefully, you will crash it immediately.

In the summer, flights of hundreds of kilometers are commonplace. The world record for a flight in a straight line is 2000 kilometers.

Hang gliding has a safety record that is superior to commercial aviation. Like any form of aviation, hang gliding can be dangerous if pursued foolishly, and any form of aviation has associated risk. Hang gliding is like most popular outdoor sports: it must be performed with the proper training, safety considerations, and within the limits of the equipment and pilot. Gliders in the United States are certified for air worthiness by the Hang Glider Manufacturers Association (HGMA).

Your instructor can help you with that once you are ready to make the investment. Many instructors are also certified dealers and can sell you a new or used glider. As a safety check in the sport, you must get new equipment from a dealer. None of the glider manufacturers will sell a glider directly to a customer because, being a self-regulated sport, everyone involved in the gliding community wants to make sure that only properly-trained individuals can purchase a glider.

Considering the inability of most people to set a VCR timer, this is not a good idea. Seriously, glider manufacturers use sophisticated CAD design and automated workshops to produce precision airfoils. Glider designs undergo extensive flight testing. Like any aircraft, home building is not a simple or quick solution for the inexperienced engineer. And in addition, "kits" are not commonly available for gliders anymore.

If you're not sure about taking up the sport, you might prefer to book a 1 or 2 day taster course at a school, or simply arrange to meet them on the hill, and see at first hand what the sport is all about.

The pilot may foot launch, platform launch or dolly launch the glider, or even launch the glider from floats on the water. A hang glider is somewhat more difficult to fly under tow, and the pilot must also be aware of the various things that can go wrong in order to react appropriately. The USHPA has tow administrators who can rate people for tow. Most of those are also instructors and can train people to tow safely.

It's attached to a release at the apex of a specialized tow bridle. The tow bridle attaches to the pilot, the glider, or both. The release is positioned in front of the pilot so he can easily operate it. There is a weak link between the release and towline to protect the glider from overloads. The pilot may foot launch, platform launch or dolly launch the glider, or even launch the glider from floats on the water.

It depends on user preference. Proponents of low hang points say it's more like a free flight (unpowered) harness, and this is only somewhat true--having to balance 45+ pounds of motor/fuel will never allow it to be very much like free-flight. Some say that low hang points allow more weight shift control, and this may be true, but weightshift ability is more a matter of the relative position of the hang points and the machine/pilot's center of gravity (CG).

Different hammock lengths (ring to ring) will require different instructions. We can only make recommendations and you will have to tweak the installation to suit you. If your hammock is 13 feet long you will want a space approximately 15 feet apart with a foot of chain or rope at each end to adjust the hammock up or down from the ground. The hammock hooks that you hang the hammock from should be at least 4 to 5 feet off the ground.

Hanging your set at the right height makes all the difference for comfortable viewing. In general, there are two schools of thought: If you will be watching the TV while sitting on the couch, then the center of the TV should be at eye level when sitting up straight on the couch. However, this could make the TV seem low when standing next to it.

Consider your heavy bag as your opponent. With that in mind, the bag should be high enough to deliver a blow to the "head", so the top of the bag should be about level with the top of your head. If you have a very short bag, you may need to adjust this height somewhat. Unfortunately, this is normal. The combination of your punches and gravity are causing the contents of the bag to settle to the bottom. The best and maybe only option you have, is to purchase an outer cover for your bag.