![]() The two elements will then be put together to teach you powered flight. Your instructor will also explain torque and thrust effects, and discuss safety issues. With these skills under your belt your instructor will then turn to the power unit, and you will learn how to start the motor, control the throttle, and undertake basic routine maintenance. A full hang gliding course will cover rigging and launching the wing, airspeed control, turning, approaching and landing. You'll also need a flying suit, flying boots and a helmet, and will need to consider purchasing other equipment as you progress.īefore making your initial flights under power, you'll first need to learn to fly a conventional hang glider. New power units cost around £3,000 - £4,000, to which you need to add the cost of a new or second hand hang glider. ![]() Please see the British Microlight Aircraft Association website for further information about flying such microlights in the UK.īut an ordinary foot launched hang glider, when powered by a small engine fitted into the pilot's harness, offers the ability to take-off from any relativly small, flat field and climb away to find the thermals that all glider pilots rely on to make cross country flights.Īlternatively, you can just cruise around, sightseeing, or fly to a chosen destination using much less fuel than a microlight, whilst retaining the uncluttered view that hang glider pilots enjoy. Powered hang gliders weighing more than 70kg (or 75kg if fitted with an emergency parachute) are classed as microlights, and are therefore outside of the scope of the BHPA. To reiterate: BHPA power qualified pilots are not authorised, trained or insured to fly with passengers. No BHPA dual power qualification is currently available. A BHPA member holding a BHPA Power rating can legally fly such a machine and be insured under the BHPA master policy.īHPA Power qualifications are for solo flight only. Thanks to a 2017 Exemption to the Air Navigation Order, powered hang gliders that take-off and land on wheels, weighing less than 70kg (or 75kg if fitted with an emergency parachute) and having a stall speed below 20kts can be flown without the need for a pilot's licence. Of course if lift is not so abundant you may decide to keep your engine running and simply set course for a distant objective, watching the fascinating landsacpe unroll beneath you.Įither way you are enjoying one of the simplest, most minimal forms of powered flying. Ten minutes later you reach the first promising-looking cloud and switch off you engine to conserve fuel, and begin to thermall as you would on a conventional hang glider. It's just like a normal hang glider take-off, but from level ground, and then you immediately begin to climb. Then, throttle wide open, you begin to run. The motor is gently ticking over behind you as you walk your hang glider to the start of the take-off strip in a kindly farmer's field. Subscribe to Skywings the official magazine of the BHPA, or buy back issues Enter the first part of your postcode to find your nearest BHPA recreational clubĮg. ![]()
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