All FLPHG stuff goes here
By faiq386
#401060
Hello every one! I am here new in this forum and thus this is my first post.I want to build to my own home made powered hang glider because I lust for hang gliding.I want to fly in the air from my childhood ,and i think this is the time to fulfill my dream.I search google for this purpose ,read some literature,videos and got information about hang gliders and its stability,but still need some information.I have no standard material of hang glider available such as dacron sail cloth, aluminium 7075 tubes near me but I will try to use alternates(suggestion needed).
My question is should I work on S.S hang glider OR D.S :? (my weight is 60 kg) ?
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By TomGalvin
#401062
The steps I would suggest for building your own hang glider for the least cost, most enjoyment, and highest safety are as follows:

1) Learn to fly a hang glider with an instructor using the glider he provides
2) Buy a used hang glider that your instructors thinks is appropriate for you
3) Fly a lot
4) Study a lot
5) Build your own hang glider

I am sure others will chime in very soon...

Tell us a little bit more about you. Where do you live? How did you learn about the sport? What is your background?
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By red
#401065
faiq386 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:04 amHello every one! I am here new in this forum and thus this is my first post.I want to build to my own home made powered hang glider because I lust for hang gliding.I want to fly in the air from my childhood ,and i think this is the time to fulfill my dream.My question is should I work on S.S hang glider OR D.S :? (my weight is 60 kg) ?
faiq386,

By far, the cheapest way to get a hang glider for yourself is buying a good used HG from a pilot who is getting a new wing. HG clubs are a great source of affordable and safe gear. If there was any good substitute for aircraft aluminum, I guarantee that everybody would be using it. It is possible with wood, but the results will be really heavy, and the performance will be very poor. Building anything is always a huge loss in the time department - you will NEVER get one of those lost days back again.

Buy it, fly it, and live your dreams, soonest! If you must build something, check out the Sandlin AirChairs. They are all fine rainy-day projects, and cost a bit less than some new HGs. Plan on about 400+ shop hours though, and that is if you do not sit down. :lol:

We all share your dream, and we are happy to help you with knowledge, in a sport where any lack of knowledge can be disastrous to you and yours. Check out my web page, linked below, for more.
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By TjW
#401069
There's an oft-quoted aphorism in the Experimental Aircraft Association: "If you want to build, build. If you want to fly, buy."
Your post is about how you want to fly. So my advice would be to get instruction, and only then buy a hang glider -- or ultralight powered airplane, if it must be powered. By the time you're done with instruction, you'll know a lot more about what you want to do.
By faiq386
#401089
TomGalvin wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 12:30 pm The steps I would suggest for building your own hang glider for the least cost, most enjoyment, and highest safety are as follows:

1) Learn to fly a hang glider with an instructor using the glider he provides
2) Buy a used hang glider that your instructors thinks is appropriate for you
3) Fly a lot
4) Study a lot
5) Build your own hang glider

I am sure others will chime in very soon...

Tell us a little bit more about you. Where do you live? How did you learn about the sport? What is your background?
Oh! I am from pakistan.I am Electrical Engineer.From my childhood when I was in 6th or 7th ,I loved to flying things,From that time I search the mystery of aerofoil and that how aeroplanes fly :crazy:
Now to learn from instructor and then buy a hang glider is impossible for me due to financial problem.Actually I want to build my own hang glider whose performance may be best and be safe also.
Now the only mean to build my own is google, youtube and this forum.I have steel tubes instead of almunium,whose weight will not be much greater than almunium tubes as I think.It will be appreciated if you would give me the exact weight of 6 meter lenghty tube
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By dbotos
#401090
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Specific_ ... h#Examples

strength-to-weight in kN-m/kg:

7075-T6: 204
6061-T6: 115
low-carbon steel: 46.4

You'd end up with a very heavy airframe made of steel (assuming its structural strength was equivalent to a modern aluminum hang glider airframe).

If you want to see what some of the aluminum airframe components weigh, check out the drawings in the Wills Wing Falcon manual (starting on page 61) - they list the material, inside and outside diameters, length, and weight of many of the main pieces:

https://willswing.com/wp-content/upload ... e_2015.pdf

What's the state of hang gliding like in Pakistan? Are there many clubs, sites, instructors, schools?
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By red
#401091
faiq386 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:33 amI am from pakistan. Now to learn from instructor and then buy a hang glider is impossible for me due to financial problem.Actually I want to build my own hang glider whose performance may be best and be safe also. Now the only mean to build my own is google, youtube and this forum.I have steel tubes instead of almunium,whose weight will not be much greater than almunium tubes as I think.It will be appreciated if you would give me the exact weight of 6 meter lenghty tube
faiq386,

A new, complete HG, in the correct size for you, would weigh 20,4 kg. Your longest tube would be 5m or less, and the sail would weigh about 2 kg. Steel cables (aircraft-grade stainless steel, not galvanized) will be a significant part of the total weight.

Your path is very dangerous, though. A friend of mine once managed to break both leading edges on his hang glider, avoiding spectators who drove a small truck into the tiny landing field and then stopped. I do not blame the pilot; he prevented any injuries to the spectators, but at his expense. He was lucky to avoid serious injury to himself, then.

His tubes were .049 inch (1.2446 mm) wall thickness, 6061T6 aircraft aluminum. He could not find the correct (.049 inch wall thickness) tubing anywhere. He bought the same size aircraft tubing, but it was .058 inch (1,4732 mm) wall thickness. The glider would be stronger, he believed. It was stronger, of course, but those tubes really needed to flex slightly, to turn (steer) the glider in the sky. He intended to test his repaired glider on a mountain. He had flown that same glider for years, and he knew it very well. What could go wrong? We had to yell and scream at him, but we finally convinced him to test the glider on a small hill, first. So, he tested his repaired glider on a small hill, and discovered that the glider would not turn now, to either side. The new leading edge tubes were TOO strong. He put the glider away; he had no more money for further repairs, then. The glider appeared to be perfect, but now it was completely unsafe.

Friends donated money, and we bought him the new tubes that he needed, from the manufacturer. The price was high, but we set the value of our friend above the money. With the glider now repaired properly, he was able to fly it again, just like new. It would have been a personal disaster to him, if he had tested his first repairs on a mountain.

Air does not accept excuses, not even "I did not know about that." We want you to succeed, here. Please be careful. One part of my web page (linked below) talks about home-building your own glider.
User avatar
By lizzard
#401096
faiq386 wrote: Wed Nov 15, 2017 10:04 am Hello every one! I am here new in this forum and thus this is my first post.I want to build to my own home made powered hang glider because I lust for hang gliding.I want to fly in the air from my childhood ,and i think this is the time to fulfill my dream.I search google for this purpose ,read some literature,videos and got information about hang gliders and its stability,but still need some information.I have no standard material of hang glider available such as dacron sail cloth, aluminium 7075 tubes near me but I will try to use alternates(suggestion needed).
My question is should I work on S.S hang glider OR D.S :? (my weight is 60 kg) ?
Look for ACE AVIATION ... that have all you need and are close to you .
By faiq386
#401099
red wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:22 pm
faiq386 wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 11:33 amI am from pakistan. Now to learn from instructor and then buy a hang glider is impossible for me due to financial problem.Actually I want to build my own hang glider whose performance may be best and be safe also. Now the only mean to build my own is google, youtube and this forum.I have steel tubes instead of almunium,whose weight will not be much greater than almunium tubes as I think.It will be appreciated if you would give me the exact weight of 6 meter lenghty tube
faiq386,

A new, complete HG, in the correct size for you, would weigh 20,4 kg. Your longest tube would be 5m or less, and the sail would weigh about 2 kg. Steel cables (aircraft-grade stainless steel, not galvanized) will be a significant part of the total weight.

Your path is very dangerous, though. A friend of mine once managed to break both leading edges on his hang glider, avoiding spectators who drove a small truck into the tiny landing field and then stopped. I do not blame the pilot; he prevented any injuries to the spectators, but at his expense. He was lucky to avoid serious injury to himself, then.

His tubes were .049 inch (1.2446 mm) wall thickness, 6061T6 aircraft aluminum. He could not find the correct (.049 inch wall thickness) tubing anywhere. He bought the same size aircraft tubing, but it was .058 inch (1,4732 mm) wall thickness. The glider would be stronger, he believed. It was stronger, of course, but those tubes really needed to flex slightly, to turn (steer) the glider in the sky. He intended to test his repaired glider on a mountain. He had flown that same glider for years, and he knew it very well. What could go wrong? We had to yell and scream at him, but we finally convinced him to test the glider on a small hill, first. So, he tested his repaired glider on a small hill, and discovered that the glider would not turn now, to either side. The new leading edge tubes were TOO strong. He put the glider away; he had no more money for further repairs, then. The glider appeared to be perfect, but now it was completely unsafe.

Friends donated money, and we bought him the new tubes that he needed, from the manufacturer. The price was high, but we set the value of our friend above the money. With the glider now repaired properly, he was able to fly it again, just like new. It would have been a personal disaster to him, if he had tested his first repairs on a mountain.

Air does not accept excuses, not even "I did not know about that." We want you to succeed, here. Please be careful. One part of my web page (linked below) talks about home-building your own glider.
can you explain that how" slightly flexible" tubes can cause turn a hang glider in the sky?
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By red
#401100
faiq386 wrote: Fri Nov 17, 2017 4:49 am
red wrote: Thu Nov 16, 2017 1:22 pmThe glider would be stronger, he believed. It was stronger, of course, but those tubes really needed to flex slightly, to turn (steer) the glider in the sky.
Air does not accept excuses, not even "I did not know about that." We want you to succeed, here. Please be careful. One part of my web page (linked below) talks about home-building your own glider.
can you explain that how "slightly flexible" tubes can cause turn a hang glider in the sky?
faiq386,

It is easier to say"Stiffer tubing can prevent turning, depending on the design of the HG." That was the problem, here.

To perform well, a HG sail should be under some tension. When assembled, the HG leading edges are bowed rearward somewhat. The sail is really too small (in wingspan) for the airframe, at the wingtips. To turn, the sail body shifts to the left or right (caused by the pilot shifting their weight at the control bar.) The leading edge tubing must flex slightly, to allow that sail to shift when turning. All of these facts are normal, to the modern HG.

Using stiffer tubes (too stiff for the shape of the sail), the sail will have a lot of tension on it, not just a little tension. The sail is unable to shift, and the glider will not turn on command by the pilot. If the glider has a pilot who is too small for the glider, there is not enough weight shift (by the pilot) to turn the glider very well, because the tubing is too stiff for the lighter pilot. There is really much more to the story of turning a HG in the sky, but this much of the technology is basic.

The steel glider that you propose will be heavy, and extra weight at the wingtips will make a HG more difficult to turn. This fact may have been a contributing cause also, in the experience of my friend. The heavy glider will land (stall) at higher speeds, probably faster than humans can run. You may be limited to landing on wheels, due to the extra weight. The full-time use of wheels will limit you to using only very smooth landing fields, free of gullies and tall vegetation. Beginner HG pilots do use wheels, certainly, but we choose their landing areas by the smoothness and the lack of tall vegetation there.

Aircraft have often been described as a series of engineering compromises, all flying in formation. :mrgreen:

Best wishes,