[JoeF]

____________ -\\\     ___________________ What is a hang glider ? _________________     ///-

Answers are plenty. And probably in each answer is an important perspective worthy on some count. Welcome to this topic thread are historical descriptions of what a hang glider is. Each of us is making history. Individuals will have their own answer. Organizations will have their definitions to fit what is in their attention. A mechanical engineer's perspective might come up with some answer that is too broad for some particular organization, but just fine for that engineer's purposes. Site controllers will have definitions. Bylaws of clubs and associations will have definitions. A cartoonist may express in line what is a hang glider that would have a sportsman cringe. A neglected-for-HG spouse might have a definition that might burn one's ears. Children will have their definitions. Perspectives are not about right or wrong, good or bad; anyone may put forward a definition that seems to fit their perspective on the universe. That some definition is seemingly more popular than other definitions does not mean that a less popular definition is without value; rather, each definition probably has values to someone someplace for some reason or fulfillment. Indeed, what is your current definition of a hang glider; you might carry several distinct definitions for use in various sectors of your interests or attentions. In time in literature there will be found definitions galore; those are welcome to this historical adventure. Some orgs will have their own definitions changing over time; noting the orgs' first and furthers on this matter may become part of the record. Definitions may be a tool for designing, a tool for controlling activity, a tool for understanding mechanics, a tool for justifying investment, a tool for organizing things, a guide for the construction of a book, a way to categorize objects, etc. Invited is an effort to see and describe the perspective that might surround a definition, the purpose of a definition, the way the definition might be used to organize thoughts and actions. Insurance companies will have their definitions. Legal systems will have some sort of definition. Airspace governing bodies will have their definitions. Patent systems will have their definitions. Hang glider historians will wrestle with definitions of hang glider. Poets, craftsmen, theologians, mathematicians, computer programmers, advertisers, athletes, inventors, sellers, manufacturers, etc. will have their definitions. A person just getting hurt in a crash of his or her hang glider may have some definitions that tweak their former definitions. Perspectives may ride with various satisfaction levels: "that works for me!" or "there seems to be something missing in this or that definition .... for the purposes I am fulfilling." Will the org US Hawks have an explicit bylaw-presented definition or live with an undefined term. Some might define a hang glider as that which hang gliders use; and just leave the matter without any further refinement or explanation; of course, that could lead to some funny or awful stories; use your imagination ...

Sometimes it will be interesting to explore the "is not" realm, as in, "that ______is not a hang glider, because ______; such exercise often will reveal aspects of an implied or expressed definition of a hang glider.
So, from time to time, record something on topic here.     :idea: