![]() ![]() ![]() Dustin Martin and Johnny Durand battle it out, and Dustin goes farther than anyone ever has on a hang glider.Zapata “fucking” Texas- chasing the longest flights on Earth.Distance flights starts to hit, and the Dark Prince- Larry Tudor flies 200 miles, then 300 miles…. ![]() Hundreds of manufacturers form around the world, performance increases and the accident rates goes through the roof.Steven Pearson and the birth of Wills Wing and the crazy boom of Hang Gliding in the early and mid 70’s.David Glover and Rogallo and the “Killer van”.The space race and how it affects Hang gliding and free flight.Wills Wing- from the Boom to accidents to the decades of decline.National Geographic and the birth of Wills Wing under Bob and Chris Wills.Francis Rogallo- the lightbulb goes off.First time soaring- on a 150 pound glider, in 30+ mph wind with bamboo and a kitchen curtain!.Wright Brothers Innovation and inspiration- thousands of flights go down before they add engines!.Octave Chanute carries on the legacy of Lillienthal and the Wright brothers take notice.The first “hang gliders”, taking from Divinci and Lillienthal Otto Lillienthal and then up to the Wright Brothers.Subscribe to the Cloudbase Mayhem Podcast on Stitcher Radio, Google Play, Tune In, or ITunes! We also accept donations via cryptocurrency: Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin What’s next for the sport, and has what’s happened to hang gliding foretelling of paragliding’s future? This is a remarkable tale told eloquently by the legendary Bruce Weaver from Kitty Hawk Kites, the president Wills Wing Steven Pearson, the former president of USHPA and former world record holder David Glover, the “Dark Prince” Larry Tudor and the current world record holder, Dustin Martin. In 2012 Dustin Martin flies an unbelievable 475 miles in Texas, the farthest anyone has flown on unpowered aircraft but the future of hang gliding is anything but encouraging. Gliders continue to innovate at an insane pace and incredible distances are flown- the first 100 mile flight goes down, then Larry Tudor flies 200 miles, then 300 but as wings get more and more sophisticated and fast, they also get more difficult to fly and importantly- to learn. In the late 70’s the Hang Gliding Manufacturers Association creates a certification process and the sport becomes more interested in safety than just getting off the ground at any cost. The sport goes crazy in the early 70’s, over a hundred manufacturers get into the game, performance gains go through the roof, but then so do the accidents. Suddenly we can chase the birds, fulfilling a shared dream that has existed from the beginning of human history. Interest in unpowered flight returns after the Wars and the arrival of Francis Rogallo and his genius leads to Hang gliding as we know it. Imagine picking up a 150 pound glider built out of bamboo, balsa and muzzen cloth in 30 miles per hour of wind and actually soaring! Their flights in 1911 wouldn’t be matched until the early 1970’s! Their passion for flight lead to the rapid development of powered aircraft which had a massive impact in the devastating air campaigns of World War I and World War II. Orville and Wilbur Wright’s flights in the early 1900’s are still hard to wrap your head around. His wings inspired Octave Chanute and his assistants to make thousands of flights at the turn of the last century on the shores of lake Michigan which led to the Wright Brothers’ remarkable inventions- and humans take to the skies. Drawing inspiration from Leonardo Davinci, Otto Lillienthal built the first foot-launched hang gliders in the late 1800’s. So your current hang glider is suitable if you are near the bottom weight range, or you could purchase or trade in for a wing that is one size larger.Hang gliding is arguably the first “extreme sport” in human history and its influences radically changed the world. The Powered Harness replaces your regular harness adding just 50lbs to your flying weight. But if you crave the freedom to launch anywhere (even from your own backyard), plus have the convenience to fly alone based on your own personal schedule, and be able to fly in remote areas where it is not possible to launch a hang glider – then this Powered Harness is exactly what you need to gain full accessibility to cloudbase anytime, and anywhere! Hang Gliding is a group participation sport where pilots drive to a Flying Site to launch from hills/mountains, or a Flight Park facility like Adventure At Altitude to be towed aloft. ![]()
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