Xpanse wrote: Exposition to hang gliding is a must! I am 34 years old and seen HG for the first time on youtube about 4 years ago (and I was hooked immediately!) I was not aware that such airsport exist!
Well, since we are still on the subject I can give you a quick description of how visible airsports are on the Swedish internet and how we promote HG here.
Anybody with a computer can google the words
airsport &
sweden or just the swedish word
flygsport and your first hit is the Swedish Airsports Association. On that page you can find links to all individual flying disciplines, including of course hanggliding. If you click on the link to the website of the Swedish Hanggliding Association you will come to a fantastic page with loads of info, pics and videos. There is a lot of info & material for the ones already flying and even more for the ones that have never seen this sport before.
The information for potential future flyers is in two parts: one part explaining the sport in simple terms and describing what an amazing feeling it is to fly a hangglider and how rewarding this sport is. The second part takes you back to earth by reminding you that all these great moments that you can potentially experience don't come free. On our FAQ we make clear that hanggliding is as demanding and difficult as any other form of aviation. Or more. And the level of commitment needed is beyond what you thought it was. And that's where most people stop reading further I guess.
The website of the Swedish HG Association can also be found through youtube. If you happen to come across a hanggliding video, chances are that it says somewhere on your screen what this sport is called in English. Typing in google
Hangglide &
Sweden will bring you to our website. So once again, anybody with a computer and an intrest in flying will discover us sooner or later. Won't even have to go to an airshow to see us.
The big advantage of course is that all relevant information is found on an
official website. There are many pilots out there that have private websites with very helpful and relevant info but there is of course a different "gravity" to the information provided officially from the country's own association. Plus the fact that all the serious clubs and instructors are listed and linked there.
Having such an informative and rich website means that the amount of mails asking questions that are not covered there can be counted in one hand. But other than that, the people entering the sport is very low.
So to sum it up: a lot of relevant information about the sport (that can be easily found online) means fewer mails asking questions, from people who will probably not continue flying after the first 3 days of the basic training.
The Swedish HG Association's webpage is
www.hangflyg.org in case anybody wants to test how s--- Google Translate is.