US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

I just stumbled on transcripts of letters written by the Austrian kite enthusiast Hugo Nikel. This one mentions that he was able to use his particular model to glide from a slope:
http://www.drachenarchiv.de/Seiten/h_hist_nikkel.html

Zum Schluß sei noch erwähnt, daß der Drache auch zum persönlichen Gleitflug verwendet worden ist, welcher durch Absprung von ca. 8 m hohen Terrainstufen - nach genommenen Anlauf - eingeleitet, selbst bei Windstille Strecken bis 30 m anstandslos durchzufliegen ermöglichte. Durch die günstigen Ergebnisse ermutigt, gehe ich eben daran, einen so großen Drachen nach System zu konstruieren,daß derselbe schon bei einem Wind von 8 - 10 m das Hochnehmen einer Person ermöglicht und so dem Fesselballon ernstliche Konkurrenz zu bereiten anfangen dürfte.

Humble translation:

Finally, I'd like to mention that the kite was used for personal flight, too. Running jumps at zero wind from 8m height resulted in flights as long as 30 m. Encouraged by these results I am about to construct an even larger kite. This kite should be able to lift a person at 8 - 10 m/s wind speed. So it may become a serious competition to tethered balloons.

Apparently, Hugo Nikel did not see his free flights as an achievement in itself. His next construction would be a man lifting kite rather than an improved glider. Still, I feel that he may be counted as one of the early hang gliding pioneers. Note, that this happened in 1899, just ten years after Otto Lilienthals first free flights.

---<)kaimartin(>---

Here is a web page with images of modern remakes of Nikels kites:
https://web.archive.org/web/20040311101829/http://home8.inet.tele.dk/r_d/galerie/gal_14.htm



Note, that the kite string is attached at a single point. Both the modern enthusiast and Hugo Nikel himself mention how docile the kites fly with no need to make adjustments.


The red one was done with modern materials. The one with the pointy wing tips is close to the original.
Both had their maiden flight in 2001 at the legendary kite meet on the danish island Fanø.

---<)kaimartin(>---

Good find Kai.

wow !