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.

Paragliders fold down into a package the size of a largish knapsack and can be transported relatively easily. A hang glider needs a vehicle with a roof-rack for transportation to and from the flying site. It's also somewhat easier to learn to fly a Paraglider in the initial stages. Depending upon who you ask you will get a range of different answers to this question.

For your own safety we strongly advise you not to try to teach yourself to fly a hang glider or paraglider. These are real aircraft, with complex flight characteristics. Any attempt to teach yourself to fly could all too easily result in serious injury. Professional instruction from a BHPA registered school is the only safe way to gain the necessary knowledge and experience to fly within a recreational club, without being a danger to yourself or others in the air.

Many pilots fly both. The paraglider is more portable and suitable for back packing to launch sites. It folds down into a pack weighing as little as 8kg, complete. Conversely, a hang glider, weighs around 50kg, needs a vehicle with a roof rack for transportation to and from the flying site, as well as 30 minutes to set-up and strip-down. Paragliders are ready to fly in 5 minutes. It's also somewhat easier to learn to fly a paraglider.

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.

The control bar front and back cables must be altered or replaced to so that the base tube is swung back 12-16 inches (30-40 cm.) from the prone position. On gliders with loose side wires the side cables need not be altered. On other gliders the side cables may be altered (usually slightly longer) or a longer base tube may be used.

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 paraglider can fly from all location where a hang-glider can take off but not vice-versa. A hang-glider has a rigid frame, which maintains the shape of the wing, and the pilot usually flies in a prone position. A paraglider's canopy shape is maintained by air pres-sure and the pilot is suspended in a sitting position. The hang-glider is capable of flying at much higher speeds than a paraglider.

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.

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.

Not really, but a program analogous to FAA licensing exists and is administered by the USHGA (U.S. Hang Gliding Association). This program consists of a specific set of flying skills corresponding to a series of pilot proficiency ratings (Beginner through Master) each of which carries a set of recommended operating limitations. Beginner rated pilots, for instance, should only fly from hills under 100 ft in height in mild winds and under the guidance of an instructor.

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.

The 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. The hang glider has a "cleaner" aerodynamic profile and generally is capable of flying at much higher speeds than a paraglider.

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. (These last have all been with FAA permission for the rules lawyers reading this). More typically, pilots in the summer in the U.S. will frequently achieve altitudes of 5,000 to 10,000 ft AGL and fly for over 50-100mi, sometimes returning to their starting point.