The performance of a hang glider and the distance it can travel is determined by its glide ratio ( lift/drag ratio), the ratio of the forward distance traveled to the vertical distance dropped. The amount of drag is proportional to the airspeed of the hang glider: The faster the glider moves, the more drag it creates (see How Gliders Work for details).Īs with soarplane gliders, the balance of these three forces (lift, drag, gravity) determines how high the hang glider can go, how far it can travel and how long it can stay aloft. The frictional force caused by these collisions is known as drag, which slows the glider down. As the hang glider and pilot move through the air, they collide with air molecules. In addition to the horizontal movement of air, hang gliders can get lift from rising currents of air, such as columns of hot air ( thermal lift) or air deflected upward by mountainous or ridge topography ( ridge lift). Once aloft, gravity (the weight of the hang glider and pilot) pulls the glider back toward Earth and propels the glider forward, continually causing air to flow over the wing. This movement of air over the surface of the wing generates lift, the force that counters gravity and keeps the glider aloft. 'I will go hang gliding again as I did not enjoy my first flight.To launch, the pilot must run down a slope to get air moving across the wing at about 15 to 25 miles per hour (24 to 40 kph).

He said: 'While the pilot made a critical error in our pre-flight set up by not attaching me to the glider, he did all he could to get me down to the ground as quickly as possible while grabbing onto my harness and flying with one hand. It beats the alternative.'ĭespite his terrifying ordeal, Gursky praised the pilot and even said he'd try hang gliding again. I also tore my left bicep tendon from holding on for so long. 'A titanium plate and seven screws were installed and I was released the following afternoon. 'Upon impact my right wrist suffered a distal radius fracture, which required surgery. 14 seconds I had to hang on for my life! The landing was a rough one, but I lived to tell the story. 'When I sat up I knew something was wrong and saw that my wrist was broken. I looked down to see my feet hit first, which ripped me off at about 45 mph as it was a hot landing and I was under the landing gear.

'I ended up holding on bar with the left hand and the lower part of his leg with the right when we were nearing the ground. 'The pilot grabbed my hand, but like in the movies it was a slow motion slipping of the grip until my right hand slipped off and I grabbed another strap on his left side for a bit but this slipped off also. As we were going down for a hot landing I was slowly losing my grip with my right hand as I was swinging in the wind with the glider. 'My left hand was on the cross bar that was ultimately the landing gear, with a wheel on each side. He was trying to make a bee line to the landing field as he knew what the situation could bring. I was losing grip with my right hand, that was holding onto a strap on the pilot's right shoulder. 'I remember looking down and thinking, this is it. Gursky said: 'My body weight shifted straight down and I found myself hanging on for my life. He tore his left bicep tendon and had to have surgery on his right wrist after it suffered a distal radius fracture from the impact of dropping to the floor. Photo / YouTubeĮventually he was close enough to the ground to let go. The hang gliding craft goes higher into the air and Chris Gursky clings on to the metal bar as the pilot tries to bring it down safely. The pilot tried his best to bring them down but had trouble controlling the glider and they flew over more trees and went higher.Īs they began their descent Gursky clung to the pilot's leg but started to lose his grip on the metal bar. Gursky tightly gripped a metal bar with his left hand and held onto the instructors back with his right as they glide over trees and fields. Seconds after Gursky and the pilot took off they realised that he was not attached. The auto-parts manager and photographer had to 'hang on for his life' during the ride he videoed, and later named Swiss Mishap.Īfter taking off from a 1219m mountain edge, Gursky had to hang on for two minutes and 14 seconds, as the pilot desperately tried to steer with one hand. The terrifying clip from Chris Gursky's first day on holiday in Switzerland has been shared on YouTube - after the fun activity turned into a 'near-death experience,' Daily Mail reports. A man who went hang gliding for the first time had to cling onto a metal bar for more than two minutes when his pilot forgot to hook him onto the glider, heart-stopping footage has shown.

Ftb hang glider drags me down