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||| Single-layer canopy gliding-kite paraglider |||

World ParaGliding Association
WPGA    A home for gliding-kite pilots!  

 Public apology: Dear Public, we do not condone the uprooting of public shrubs and trees that has been done by some un-airframed canopy glider users. We now recommend stopping inland canopy paragliding while encouraging airframed single-tether hang gliders for inland flying, because of the collapsing costs and the environmental cost . Such poor behavior may cause erosion, slides, and destruction of the natural setting belonging to animals and people. 

And we are sorry that so many canopy riders are costing their lives, bodies, and loved one's interests; the public cost is rising; see CometClones for a significant (yet incomplete) peek at part of the costs.

[Membership Benefits, Waiver, and aspects]  |   [Glossary]

Paragliding is the launching, flying, and landing of gliding-kite systems
with or without humans aboard.
The wing set of paragliders may have as much rigid structure
as found successful for a particular mission or purpose. *
||||  gliding-kite systems   ||||
   

• Contact:  News, notes, and discussion:    Lift@worldparaglidingassociation.org

• Free join:    Join@worldparaglidingassociation.org 

• Report all paragliding incidents from any nation on earth:    safety@worldparaglidingassociation.org

*Wings in the gliding-kite systems are from (but not limited from):
Jalbert (parafoil), Rogallo (parawing), Barish (sailwing or glide wing), Lemoigne (Para-commander),
Otto W. Neumark, Everett, Prentice,
Any wing may be used in a gliding kite system: paraglider. Solid, semi-solid, fully flexible, stick-framed or not: Any wing.

Newbie myth: "Paragliding is an adventure sport featuring lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft that possess no rigid primary structure." Not generally true, as the craft may have as much rigidity as wanted to accomplish particular interests and purposes.
MORE ACCURATE: Paragliding uses paragliders (gliding kites) which may have as much rigidity in their primary structure as one wishes for purpose. Purpose may be far beyond sport, e.g., play, recreation, science, commerce, military, industry, art, photography, etc.

Sport paragliding involving flown pilot is a kite sport using gliding kites called paragliders.

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@WorldHan ... iation.orgfor 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