See==>
How are you doing with the GH Test?

World Hang Gliding Association
for airframed hang gliding     See also: One-string in WPGA

Lift
[ballasted masses tethered to wings set in gliding flight as instances of kite, aka: paragliders]
Sister org:  World ParaGliding Association, free join for life.

Ongoing projects

And also:

Busable eHG
CometClones and PDMC
Towing releases and weak links  
Waiver
*  Hang glider history: Forum
*  TCF from 1800s to the present
  *  Movement to orgs dedicated solely to airframed hang gliders
*  Open-source third-party insurance
*  Rogallo hang gliders
*  Flying-canard sled and skied TCF with non-rebound position limiting lines
*  Level-land nil-wind long gliding or FLG (flatland long gliding)
* Millions-of-launch-sites targeting

*  Internet-based integrity honor system for training and rating program:
 Pilots and a witness sign themselves off through the flight training program
and rate themselves by such actions.

  • Otto Pilot-0 (no flying, but invest themselves in history, accident awareness, model flying, equipment awareness, observation visits, wind, physicality, readiness, awareness of niche activity options, site descriptions, turbulence awareness, airspace awareness,  able to describe pros and cons of wheels, skids, skis, types of harnesses, helmets, instruments, etc.).
     

  • OP-1, OP-2, OP-3, OP-4, OP-5, ..., OP-Master
     

  • Special HG skills: 

    • LLLG   Level land long gliding with full attention to safety devices

    • FLMSL    Foot-launch moderate-slope launching

    • FLNCL     Foot-launch nil-wind cliff launching

    • FLWCL    Foot-launch windy-cliff launching

    • Etc. ...
       

  • Special HG-launch-method skills:

    • Aerotow by piloted tug

    • Aerotow by tethered robotic tug

    • Aerotow by close-couple powered releasable rig

    • Bungee Single with team,

    • Bungee single solo

    • Bungee Vee with team,

    • Bungee Vee solo,

    • Platform Payout

    • Static Line,

    • Horse tug,

    • Dog-team tug

    • Friends tug,

    • Tall-building roof

    • Kite-system-held-aloft platform launching

    • Static drop from tag line held by kite system

    • Launch by help kite system as tug

    • Launch by helper parachute system as tug

    • Drop-from-beneath balloon

    • Blimp-top launch

    • Lift-off close-coupled rig on powered aircraft

    • Powered boat as tug over water (sealing and flotation attentions)

    • Etc. ...
       

  • Special-type skills:

    • Otto Lilienthal replica

    • Pilcher replica

    • Lavezzari replica

    • Paresev wing replica with Breslau 1908 TCF (enhanced with stayed reflex hopefully!)

    • Rigid wing

    • Biplane tailed with three-axis control 

    • Electric-motored hang glider    eHG  wheel launch

    • Electric-motored hang glider    eHG  off-water flotation launch

    • Electric-motored hang glider foot launch from level ground

    • Gyro hang glider    gHG 

    • Etc.  ...

 

 
NEWS RELEASE

The World Hang Gliding Association has awarded Gustave Whitehead, Tony Prentice, John Worth, Charles Richards, Barry Hill Palmer, Thomas H. Purcell, Jr., and James Hobson, Mike Burns, John Dickenson, Richard Miller, Bill Bennett, Bill Moyes, Dave Kilbourne, Richard Eipper, and Peter Brock, a combination Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award for their showing simplicities in hang gliders using the four-boom flex-wing radiating out of standard kiting and gliding extant public-domain arts or the Rogallo-NASA-Ryan-Paresev environment using public-domain arts extant since the first decade of 1910. The Gustave Whitehead teachings that were inspired from the works of others like Otto Lilienthal, Percy Pilcher, Wenham, and others and the most simple hang glider in Breslau of 1908 that had the simple cable-stayed A-frame we use commonly today, combined with the works of these hang glider men of the Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award, firms the impossibility of anyone fairly claiming global mechanical "invention" of the basic core hang glider that saturated the 1960s until even prior arts in flying wings saturated designs post 1974. The Gold Award by WHGA is open for the entrance of other men or women to the special award as data justifies; please send in flex-wing hang glider historical data to the FlexWingHangGliderGoldAirAward@WorldHangGlidingAssociation.org  for processing and possible adding people to the award. The public-domain art extant in 1961 was super simple to copy and make into one's own tinkered wing; the ancients could have had the flex-wing four-boom hang glider thousands of years ago for successful flight as did the men of the this WHGA Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award. One can trace the mechanics of Hobson's or Eipper's four-boom flex-wing hang glider right into the first decade of 1900s. The minor tweaks of ornamental appearance for tweaked site and use missions remain part of the story of the flex-wing hang glider. 

Unfortunately one person who came late in the game has been being pushed into an untenable claim at mechanical global invention of that which belonged to the public already; that person is listed in the award despite the infamous untenable claim that was unfortunately rubber stamped by some orgs who exercised a low-bar scrutiny over their award text to the injury of others and to hang gliding history. It can be traced how one person bullied the untenable claim along with other untenable claims. Differently, the WHGA has this Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award that will be open to historical findings about the flex-wing hang glider, perhaps battened. Enjoy the history of each awardee's personal story and adventure. See the emptiness of the hoax, but see the joy of making and flying. The FAI, GH, and JD should know that they will probably be forgiven by the hang gliding community for the rash unsound flattening of the otherwise rich history of the public-domain flex-wing hang glider arts, when they recant and rewrite their untenable texts for some fresh version with open and fair apologies. The great sport of hang gliding has a big joyous heart and it seems to recognize how huge is the excitement that many have about hang gliding; when someone get so excited that wish to claim what belongs to another, then such matter will be brought to light by those who care about the face of hang gliding; there is no need to flatten a giant great scene into a one-point untenable. 

Let us know if the WHGA is to add other names to the flex-wing flow fit for the 
Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award    FlexWingHangGliderGoldAirAward@WorldHangGlidingAssociation.org

OttoPilot@WorldHangGlidingAssociation.org