This forum is dedicated to discussions on how to grow the sport of hang gliding. We will take a methodical approach to collect data and come up with implementable ideas on how to increase our numbers. This includes effective marketing, lead generation, site access issues, improving regulations, lack of instructors, lack of sites, etc

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By tom emery
#368230
You gotta want....bad. I used to surf five times a week. When I was a kid I used to ski every winter day. Owned a saiboat and sailed it every chance I got. Now I just fly....and occasionally surf.
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By pec1985
#368232
I started to look into hang gliding when I was about 18 to 20 years old. At that time I was in school and I had no time and no money. Also, I lived in cold New England (Boston), where it is not as easy to fly as it is here in California.

I started to dream about it, fantasize, watch YouTube videos and hope to some day do it. Man... that was a dream. Now I'm 30, I started flying when I was 27, out of school, with a good job, and in California.
And that's my story of why I had to wait over 7 years to fly a hang glider.

Cheers.
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By davisstraub
#368241
50,000 tandem "demo" flights last year?
By old newbie
#368243
davisstraub wrote:
There also seems to be a lot of towing going on in Texas.

Andy Jackson and Sylmar seem to be in great shape.
Define a lot. Seems like there is towing going on would probably be a better description
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By Spark
#368248
I started when I was 19 ... that was 39 years ago. I'd love to see more young folks in this sport. :)
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By littlepilot
#368265
ryder115 wrote:The hang glider portability arguement aside....
I agree with the financial aspect being a hurdle. I'm lucky enough to have parents who are not only awesome enough to help fund my training, but who also are ok with the idea of letting their kid fly a hang glider. I've had two friends who have wanted to give hg a try (both my age, both female) and one dropped out after two lessons because of price, the other's dad was firmly against her participating in "such a dangerous activity." I know not a whole lot can be done about price because instructors gotta stay in business, but I think a lot of people look at hang gliding the way they do sky diving, a bucket list type thing. Both kids and adults see it as something crazy and risky, like a "guy walking a tightrope across the Grand Canyon on TV" kind of thing.
I'm a snowboarder as well, and at least at my resort I've noticed a huge increase in boarders over the past 5 years. People watch the X Games and think "I wanna try that", and they do, knowing they'll never spin a 1080 but not afraid to just learn the basics. I think that when they get a glimpse of hg (which they rarely do considering there's barely any media presence), just the idea of flying seems like something to be left to the professionals.
With my generation being so addicted to social media, maybe we need things like the Free Flyers movie and the new Rhythm of Flight project to get more publicity. Or better yet, we need a group of young pilots to get together and make movie/video series/Instagram-Twitter- whatever page to let our generation know that hg is a real, tangible thing.

Sorry for my rant, just thinking.....


Just gonna throw up some thoughts par for the course...I stared when I was 10! My father got me into the sport by taking me to Ellenville and id sit and watch him fly and sometimes film....once i got fed up wiht watching i decided to learn.
best decsion i ever made (minus the fact that every friggin penny i make goes into flying some way leaving me super duper happy but super duper broke...i know many can relate.

i go to a prep school in new hampshire and i dont see my friends who try it having a problem with money...obviously it is an issue for some poeple...many really...but their issue is that they just dont have the drive to stick with it. its kinda sad actually. I agree with Ryder that what we need is some sort of great presentation of young people flying that can not only be shown to youtube or whatever....but made accessable to the world...i know its crazy but wouldnt someone sponsor an hour long documentary on a group of "remarkable young people with a passion?" something like dreaming awake quality?

idk...im a dreamer...but i love this sport more than anything and ill do anything to make sure it lives on
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By flysurfski
#368266
Started at 15 thanks to Kitty Hawk Kites. Got my H2 at 20 thanks to living 15 minutes from POTM, Utah


BTW I do not know if I could have afforded HG as A 20 year old ski bum if it were not for the Vision Mark IV my brother gave me or the lessons from Tom W for next to nothing. Tom is the man and his name is also on my H4 card.... :mosh: :mosh: :mosh:
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By ryder115
#368274
littlepilot wrote: what we need is some sort of great presentation of young people flying that can not only be shown to youtube or whatever....but made accessable to the world...i know its crazy but wouldnt someone sponsor an hour long documentary on a group of "remarkable young people with a passion?" something like dreaming awake quality?
This needs to happen!! I'm in!
With as many excellent videographers as there seem to be in the hg community, it's not a long shot to at least try to get a good quality YouTube documentary up.
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By waltspoint
#368275
I started when I was 13. I done got old, sigh, couldn't stop time's march forward. My son started @17, he's 19 now. There's usually some young flyers at the training hill whenever I'm out there. Obviously money & logistics issues are tougher when you're a teenager, but you've got time and youthful energy on your side. I'd recommend finding a rich adventurous girlfriend (or boyfriend as the case may be) with a FWD truck equipped with a lumber rack. I also don't understand why everyone doesn't want to fly, but there's no changing stupid! We're glad to hear you're excited about the sport, ryder115! Push out, /jd
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By boarini2003
#368276
tom emery wrote:You gotta want....bad. I used to surf five times a week. When I was a kid I used to ski every winter day. Owned a saiboat and sailed it every chance I got. Now I just fly....and occasionally surf.
I think desire is the key. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way. Logistical hassles? Not much worse than a lot of other activities. Cost? Ditto. Lack of instructors? That can be an issue, but I myself travelled vast distances just to learn, and I know people who have moved jobs and cities just to fly. Even on this forum there's people who come to mind like Samarth who has learned to fly in a country with zero instructors. Lack of media exposure? For the curious, anything is a Google search away. Younger people today don't want to Hang Glide as much as they used to. This decline is observed in many other areas, from interest in outdoor sports, camping, golf, even things like drivers licenses. My solution to all of this is to make a selfie stick that you can put on a glider. That'll get people flocking to hang gliding.
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By ryder115
#368288
boarini2003 wrote:
tom emery wrote:You gotta want....bad. I used to surf five times a week. When I was a kid I used to ski every winter day. Owned a saiboat and sailed it every chance I got. Now I just fly....and occasionally surf.
I think desire is the key. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way. Logistical hassles? Not much worse than a lot of other activities. Cost? Ditto. Lack of instructors? That can be an issue, but I myself travelled vast distances just to learn, and I know people who have moved jobs and cities just to fly. Even on this forum there's people who come to mind like Samarth who has learned to fly in a country with zero instructors. Lack of media exposure? For the curious, anything is a Google search away. Younger people today don't want to Hang Glide as much as they used to. This decline is observed in many other areas, from interest in outdoor sports, camping, golf, even things like drivers licenses. My solution to all of this is to make a selfie stick that you can put on a glider. That'll get people flocking to hang gliding.
I agree that desire is one of the key factors. I guess what we need is something to instill this desire in younger potential pilots...

And a selfie stick for your glider :lol: you may be on to something here! Sometimes I'm ashamed to be part of this generation haha
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By Jason
#368293
i started at 16 that was 15 years ago


don't think i could have done it on my own
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By Takeo77
#368298
I wanted to do it since I was a kid, not sure why I didn't get into it earlier (probably lack of parental support, I have a mother who thought that the only activity for teenagers was studying) , but I started at 35 and I'm 37 now.

I do share the skies often with a 17 year old girl Hang-3, but it's not that common to see teenagers. I can see what the hold up may be though. The expense and time committed is not inconsiderable, especially for those who may have a long drive to reach a school. When most parents are cooking their skulls about how to pay for college, I don't think hang gliding ever enters their minds.
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By OverloadUT
#368320
Two reasons I didn't pick it up sooner (I'm 31 and just started): I had no idea it was even an option, and money.

We can't really solve the money problem. Therefore I think the best thing we can do for the sport is to spread awareness.

The vast majority of people think hang gliding is what I thought it was: a barely controlled fall off of a cliff, more or less like wingsuiting. Informing people that it is full-blown aviation, just without an engine, goes a long way to helping them understand what the sport actually is.
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By Brian
#368325
I've got two kids (16 & 19) who are hang2s. In my experience, money is a big hurdle. Unless they live close to the site, teenagers will never see the sport first hand unless their parents are already involved. I'm 3hrs from Lookout, a teenager would be hard pressed to afford the gas $ just to get there and back.
It cost $1,500 just for the basic training package for the 2. Then factor in at least 2 trips/month while they were training. Hotel, food, gas... Easily double that number by time they achieved mountain launches.
Factor in High School sports, jobs, and other commitments they had; it was awesome to see their dedication to learn how to soar! My daughter just called me up from college, she was hungering for flight time while on her 1st Spring Break from college. Cool, but I'm there financially supporting her. I just had to buy a used harness and chute for my son; ouch! My old wing won't be upgraded anytime soon ;-)
There are hundreds of localcollege students every year at Lookout who take a tandem ride and are exposed to the awesome sport. But then they get exposed to training package and glider prices and I'm sure they all say to themselves 'when I get a job'...
Sad fact is almost every young person I know who's involved in the sport is the child of a pilot or instructor. One or two were locals who started working for the flight park and earned their wings the hard way!
Long story short; money and access. Lots of kids can buy a $300 board and surf to their heart's content...if they live close to the beach. Same kids do the same at skate parks and ski slopes. We're not getting any new flight parks and the sport isn't getting cheaper, flying is just an expensive passion.
I'm a 47yr old GA pilot as well. More expensive but w/ better access(airports). I'm the 'young guy' in our group and any teenagers involved are the children of pilots....doh!
Blue Skies!!
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By designbydave
#368336
ryder115 wrote:
littlepilot wrote: what we need is some sort of great presentation of young people flying that can not only be shown to youtube or whatever....but made accessable to the world...i know its crazy but wouldnt someone sponsor an hour long documentary on a group of "remarkable young people with a passion?" something like dreaming awake quality?
This needs to happen!! I'm in!
With as many excellent videographers as there seem to be in the hg community, it's not a long shot to at least try to get a good quality YouTube documentary up.
https://vimeo.com/46406544