US Hawks Hang Gliding Association

Bob and others interested,

I noticed this got an incredible amount of response on the Oz Report so I know there's a lot of interest and opinions on the subject. I think it would be a great topic and would be willing to work on this if it sounds like a worthy chapter. A couple things come to mind here including the value of a third party view on the topic divorced from any economical attachment to the decision to buy a particular glider (not a distributor, not an instructor) and also some things I have never seen even discussed like control frame fit to the potential buyer or how to interpret all the wing loading data you see in the glider specs and apply this to your decision.

Hi John,

That sounds like a great idea!! It's also a very important aspect of getting into the sport safely.

The format for writing this manual is that everyone should write whatever they feel is useful. I suspect we'll be leaving all posts right here where they are (as posted), but we'll also begin to integrate them using some other collaboration tool (maybe something more like a wiki) once we start to get enough material.

One of the goals of this project is that people should write what they're passionate about. Hopefully, with enough contributors, we'll get good coverage on all topics with everyone writing just what they care about.

So please put your thoughts down in this topic, and add more as you go. Thanks!!    

jcoyier wrote:Bob and others interested,

I noticed this got an incredible amount of response on the Oz Report so I know there's a lot of interest and opinions on the subject. I think it would be a great topic and would be willing to work on this if it sounds like a worthy chapter. A couple things come to mind here including the value of a third party view on the topic divorced from any economical attachment to the decision to buy a particular glider (not a distributor, not an instructor) and also some things I have never seen even discussed like control frame fit to the potential buyer or how to interpret all the wing loading data you see in the glider specs and apply this to your decision.

John,
Great idea for a topic. My wife once bought a new glider, sight unseen, that came with a control frame too large for her. She also almost needed a step stool to hook the nose wires to the nose plate.

As I approached the age of brittle bones I made a conscious decision to start flying gliders with a larger square footage of sail area. Landing a 155 square foot area glider as opposed to my earlier 145 or 147 sails made landing at my regular density altitude of 6,000’ msl much less intense.

As muscle strength is declining I find that installing fiberglass tips on a glider is getting closer to way too difficult.

Spring loaded battens are also getting difficult to install.
Cam batten tips although not as robust are easier to install.

Over all weight of a glider can be a big concern.
Having a weak back I can’t even consider owning a topless, or rigid glider due to the greater weight of this design.

I’m looking forward to your advice on, “How To Select A New Glider.”

I am not too far off from buying my next new glider. >>>Bill C.

I think the trick is to buy the actual glider you test fly if you can. There can be a significant difference between gliders of the same model and size. I test flew two different Comets years ago... both flew great. The one I ended up buying handled terribly.

Then I bought a brand new WW Duck sight unseen which was a huge mistake. It did almost everything badly. Should have test flown one. I got suckered by the marketing.

Being a big pilot, I had trouble finding gliders that could carry my weight well. Then I stumbled on a trick. I started buying hand-me-downs from Jeff Nicolay (a big guy too) and they were always tuned for high wing loading. I took a HP AT off of him that was really amazing. Despite being twenty two squares smaller than the Duck it did everything better.

So, the moral is your next new glider needn't be new. And test fly it if you can.