Who invented the hang glider. What is a hang glider? We assemble a hang glider with our own hands

There are several types and types of hang gliders, varying depending on the purpose, experience of pilots, design. The main types of separation are the primary training apparatuses, then the mast soarers, and the third type includes mastless hang gliders.

Primary learning apparatus are easy to use, easy to operate and do not require much skill from the student pilot. They basically work out all the wisdom of the future skill. Such simple training models include "Slavutich UT", "Student", "Target", "Atlas". All hang gliders start with these models.

The approach to mast gliders is already more serious, they are already chosen by professional pilots, here skills must be at their best. Complex mast models include Slavutich Sport-5, S-14, S-15, Stealth, Stalker, Discus. Mast frames, rigid construction, high-speed flights - that's what distinguishes these professional gliders.

Hang gliders, differing in design and circuit assembly, are the third type of apparatus, mastless gliders. These are already fully professional models and are used only by hang gliding experts. This type includes such models: "Stealth KPL", "Aeros Combat L", "Moyes Litespeed", "Icaro Laminar Z".

Coleowings are a separate type of gliders - "Stalker", "Phantom", "Ghostbuster", "Axxess", "Atos", "Atos VX". To a large extent, they differ from the classic type of hang gliders and gliders. They have a high aerodynamic quality level, about 19 units and higher. Rigid wings are equipped with aerodynamic controls: ailerons, flaperons and flaps - they reduce the amount of physical force that the pilot needs to apply. Of the minuses, one can note the high production costs and the impossibility of repair (often it just needs to be changed).

Of the specific hang gliders, one can name a hydromoto hang glider, this is a motorized hang glider on floats, for splashing down on the surface of calm rivers or lakes.

The hang gliders themselves are equipped with special reinforced wings, which are mounted on racks of trolleys with wheels, on which the pilot's seat, the passenger's seat, and the motor itself are placed. Such a unit is referred to as an SLA (ultralight aircraft). And in order to drive such an apparatus, the cart is made in the form of a boat or put on floats. Motor hang gliders are distinguished by simplicity and reliability of design, low cost and compact appearance in the assembled state. It does not require a large area for acceleration and landing. There is no vibration from the motor main rotor on it, it is a good competitor to gyroplanes. There are motor hang gliders designed for 1 and 2 passengers. Pilots call ALS deltamots or hang-gliders, or even just carts.

Story

The first prototypes of hang gliders were tested by the German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal, who died during one of the flights. Although the works of Lilienthal had a significant impact on the development of aviation in general, the idea of ​​ultralight aircraft was forgotten for a long time.

In the early days of space exploration, the problem of spacecraft descent arose. In the USSR, with the boundless Kazakh steppes, the bet was made on a parachute. In the United States, two options were considered - controlled descent and splashdown of the descent vehicle in the ocean (three-quarters of the Earth's surface). Francis Rogallo developed a wing, which is a fabric skin on a tubular frame, easily assembled and folded into a compact package, which received the name "Rogallo wing" in honor of its creator. At the initial stage of space research (the Gemini and Apollo programs), a fairly well-researched parachute was chosen, and only at the next stage was the idea of ​​a controlled descent implemented (the Space Shuttle program).

The Rogallo wing, which had passed flight tests, was tested by extreme sportsmen as the simplest aircraft for descending from low altitudes, which eventually led to the emergence of a new sport - hang gliding (officially recognized by the FAI in 1974). At this stage, the duration and range of the flight and the accuracy of landing according to parachute rules were evaluated - the first touch. Very soon, the duration of the flight began to be measured in days, the flight range - hundreds of kilometers (in streams of flow), and the landing accuracy became absolute - the pilots touched the target, flying over it, and landed in a landing circle (tens of meters). I had to change the rules of the competition - the exercises became high-speed (passing the route in the minimum time), and the landing accuracy began to be evaluated by the maximum distance on the run.

In the USSR, free (not towing) flights on hang gliders began in 1972, and in 1976 in the village. Slavsko, Lviv region, on Mount Trostyan, the first all-Union rally of hang gliders was held, which brought together 25 athletes from 11 cities of Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.

Design

A hang glider is an aircraft, which consists of three duralumin pipes connected to each other at the front point and forming a fan in a horizontal plane, with an angle between the pipes of 90-140 degrees. A fabric of light, but dense and durable synthetic fabric is stretched between the pipes. The two side tubes and the trailing edge of the fabric formed an almost triangle when viewed from above. To maintain their shape, the main pipes were fixed with smaller diameter auxiliary pipes and steel cables. The pilot in a special harness, originally borrowed from a parachute, was hung on a rope by the central tube in a certain place, close to the center of mass of the apparatus. With his hands, the pilot held on to a trapezoid - a structure of three pipes, when viewed from the front, which is more often a triangle with a horizontal base, fixed in space with braces - steel cables with a diameter of several millimeters.

Flight control is carried out by the pilot by moving his body relative to the suspension point. Takeoff and landing are made on their own feet.

Due to the peculiarities of the aerodynamic layout, early models of hang gliders lost control when diving at high speed (the so-called flutter dive). However, on all modern devices this problem is solved. Low flight speeds (comparable to air flow speeds) do not allow hang gliders to operate in difficult weather conditions (cloudiness, active thermal activity).

Classification

There are several types of hang gliders:

  • initial education ("Slavutich UT", Atlas, Target, Student);
  • mast soarers (Discus, Slavutich Sport-5, S-14, S-15, Stalker, Stealth);
  • mastless (Aeros Combat L, Stealth KPL, Moyes Litespeed, Icaro Laminar Z).

There is another type of hang gliders (Class 2). This type includes beetles (Stalker, Phantom, Ghostbuster, Axxess, Atos, Atos VX). Their design has significant differences from classic hang gliders. Modern rigid wings have an aerodynamic quality > 19 units. The rigid wings use aerodynamic control (ailerons, flaperons, flaps), which significantly reduces the pilot's control efforts in flight. But they are more difficult to manufacture and much more expensive, as well as less maintainable.

Hydromotor hang glider - motor hang glider on floats

Special reinforced hang gliding wings are also made, which are mounted on a wheeled trolley rack, on which seats for the pilot, passenger and engine are mounted. This design is called a hang glider, which refers to ultralight aircraft (SLA). Sometimes the cart is made in the form of a boat or put on floats.

The advantage of a motor hang glider lies in the simplicity and reliability of the design, cheapness and compactness when folded, the minimum required length of the platform for takeoff and landing. Due to this and the absence of vibrations from the main rotor rotor, motorized hang gliders are a significant competitor to autogyros. There are different types of hang gliders. Motorized hang gliders equipped with an ultralight trolley for one or two passengers are called delta motors, hang gliders or carts by the pilots themselves. They are widely used in agriculture for use in aerial chemical works and for demonstration flights with passengers. Another type of motor hang gliders is equipped with only a small motor with a power of several horsepower (often they use engines from chainsaws), and starting and landing, as in non-motorized counterparts, is carried out mainly from the feet. Such aircraft in the slang of athletes are called brooms. They have not received wide distribution, they are operated by a narrow circle of enthusiastic athletes.

Records

The record for a straight flight distance of 700.6 km was set on July 17, 2001 by the Austrian Manfred Ruhmer.

traumatism

Cultural allusions

1980s Valeria Leontyeva Hang-glider flight.

1990 Agatha Christie Group - Tango with a Hang Glider, Album: Cunning and Love.

Notable hang gliders

Notes

Links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

Synonyms:

See what "Hang-glider" is in other dictionaries:

    - [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    hang glider- a, m. deltaplan gr. delta delta + lat. planum surface. An aircraft with a triangular (delta) wing designed for gliding flight (usually one person). Krysin 1998. Lex. MAS 2 1981: hang glider ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

    - [de], ah, husband. A light non-motorized aircraft with a close-fitting frame, with a suspension system and a handle, an athlete holds on to the rue. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

    Exist., number of synonyms: 6 hydromoto hang glider (1) motor hang glider (1) soarer ... Synonym dictionary

    - (device) ... Spelling Dictionary

    A glider with a flexible wing in the shape of the Greek letter D, hence the name of this aircraft. The wing has a frame made of aluminum pipes with a diameter of 30–45 mm, on which an airtight fabric is stretched on top (for example, lavsan or ... ... Encyclopedia of technology

    hang glider- Rice. 1. The design of the hang glider. hang glider a glider with balanced control and a flexible wing that looks like the letter ∆ in plan. It consists (Fig. 1) of a frame made of pipes with a diameter of 3045 mm, on which a sealed fabric is stretched ... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

Was long forgotten.

In the early days of space exploration, the problem of spacecraft descent arose. In the USSR, with the boundless Kazakh steppes, the bet was made on a parachute. In the United States, two options were considered - controlled descent and splashdown of the descent vehicle in the ocean (three-quarters of the Earth's surface). Francis Rogallo developed a wing, which is a fabric skin on a tubular frame, easily assembled and folded into a compact package, which received the name "Rogallo wing" in honor of its creator. At the initial stage of space research (the Gemini and Apollo programs), a fairly well-researched parachute was chosen, and only at the next stage was the idea of ​​a controlled descent implemented (the Space Shuttle program).

The Rogallo wing, which had passed flight tests, was tested by extreme sportsmen as the simplest aircraft for descending from low altitudes, which eventually led to the emergence of a new sport - hang gliding (officially recognized by the FAI in 1974). At this stage, the duration and range of the flight and the accuracy of landing according to parachute rules were evaluated - the first touch. Very soon, the duration of the flight began to be measured in days, the flight range - hundreds of kilometers (in streams of flow), and the landing accuracy became absolute - the pilots touched the target, flying over it, and landed in a landing circle (tens of meters). I had to change the rules of the competition - the exercises became high-speed (passing the route in the minimum time), and the landing accuracy began to be evaluated by the maximum distance on the run.

In the USSR, free (not towing) hang glider flights began in 1972, and in 1976 in the village of Slavske, Lviv region, on Mount Trostyan, the first all-Union gathering of hang gliders was held, which brought together 25 athletes from 11 cities of Russia, Ukraine and Latvia.

Design

Hydromotor hang glider - motor hang glider on floats

Special reinforced hang glider wings are also made, which are mounted on a wheeled trolley rack, on which seats for the pilot, passenger and engine are mounted. This design is called a hang glider, which refers to ultralight aircraft (SLA). Sometimes the cart is made in the form of a boat or put on floats.

The advantage of a motorized hang glider lies in the simplicity and reliability of the design, low cost, compactness when folded, the minimum required length of the platform for takeoff and landing. Due to this and the absence of vibrations from the main rotor rotor, motorized hang gliders are a significant competitor to autogyros. There are different types of hang gliders. Hang gliders equipped with an ultra-light cart for one or two passengers are called delta motors, hang gliders or "carts" by the pilots themselves. They are widely used in agriculture for use in aerial chemical works and for demonstration flights with passengers. Another type of hang gliders is equipped with only a small motor with a power of several horsepower (often they use engines from chainsaws), and starting and landing, as in non-motorized counterparts, is carried out mainly from the feet. Such aircraft are called "brooms" in the slang of athletes. They have not received wide distribution, they are operated by a narrow circle of enthusiastic athletes.

Records

The record for a straight flight distance of 700.6 km was set on July 17, 2001 by the Austrian Manfred Ruhmer. Michael Barber flew 704 km (437 miles) in Zapata, Texas on June 19, 2002.

Dustin Martin and Johnny Durand broke this record on July 3, 2012, flying 761 km, but this record has not yet been confirmed.

The most common hang glider models and manufacturers

The simplicity of the design of the hang glider, its schematic diagram allows you to create a wing even in a small workshop, by the fans of hang gliding. As for sports and competition wings, they require the use of composite materials, design development and production are carried out by only a few companies in the world.

The main manufacturers of hang gliders:

traumatism

hang glider

hang glider

glider with a flexible wing in the form of the Greek letter D, hence the name of this aircraft. has, made of aluminum pipes with a diameter of 30–45 mm, on which an airtight fabric (for example, lavsan or dacron) is stretched on top.

A steering trapezoid and a pilot's suspension system are attached to the wing from below, on which he is located lying or sitting. In flight, moving forward, backward, left or right relative to the trapezoid, it disturbs the balance of the hang glider, as a result of which the direction of its flight changes.

The idea of ​​​​creating a balancing hang glider belongs to the German engineer O. Lilienthal. He developed and built his first hang glider in 1891. Over the next 60, several varieties of the hang glider were created, but all of them were poorly controlled in flight and were too difficult to learn to fly. Finally, in 1951, the American F. Rogalo built a hang glider, the design of which turned out to be the best. Hang glider Rogalo had a trapezoid, had good stability and controllability in flight. Modern hang gliders have a mass of 7 to 40 kg (depending on the size of the wing and the materials used in its construction), withstand a load of 5–6 kg/m² of wing surface and reach speeds of up to 90 km/h. Traditionally, hang gliding is carried out in the foothills or on the hills. For takeoff and initial climb, the delta glider takes off and jumps from a hill, then the hang glider, like any other, is supported by ascending air currents. From con. 1970s to launch hang-gliders, special winches, auxiliary engines, hang-gliders-tows, etc. began to be used, which made it possible to fly in places with a flat terrain.

1 – flexible surface of the wing (dome); 2 - central node; 3 - upper ties; 4 - mast; 5 - keel tube (beam); 6 - nasal knot; 7 - side pipe (beam); 8 - transverse pipe (beam); 9 - lower extensions; 10 - steering trapezoid; 11 - suspension system; 12 - armor

The appearance of hang gliders in Russia refers to the beginning. 1970s; in 1986, the first hang gliders with a small engine (10–15 kW) appeared - motorized hang gliders. Hang gliding is especially popular abroad in Austria, Germany, the USA, France, Hungary, and Poland. Since 1977, international competitions, European and world championships in hang gliding have been held; Since 1986, Russian hang gliders have regularly participated in them.

Encyclopedia "Technology". - M.: Rosman. 2006 .

hang glider

A glider with balanced control and a flexible wing having the form of a letter (delta) in plan. It consists of a frame made of pipes with a diameter of 30-45 mm, on which a sealed fabric (lavsan, dacron) is stretched. The fabric can be reinforced with "armours" to give it an appropriate profile. The surface of the wing in flight has the form of two conical surfaces combined at the top. At the point of intersection of the keel and transverse beams, the pilot's suspension system is attached, which ensures that the pilot is seated or lying down. The suspension system provides free movement of the pilot relative to the trapezium, which acts as a control stick.
The idea of ​​creating a balancing glider and its implementation belong to O. Lilienthal.
The parameters of his collapsible glider, created in 1891, as well as its folding design, correspond to modern ones (weight 20 kg, 6.7 m, area 13 m2). Balanced gliders of that time and subsequent ones had insufficient controllability and were difficult to acquire piloting skills, since the pilot was held in the wing cutout on his elbows to his forearms. Flying kites (which can be considered a type of kite) towed by a wagon or ship have been known since the beginning of the 20th century. In 1962, Australian water skiers began to use them for towing behind a rope. The snakes had various shapes: polygonal, box-shaped, in the form of a star, etc. But the design patented by F. Rogallo (1951, USA) turned out to be the best. The hybrid Rogallo had a trapezoid, had good stability and a rather high aerodynamic quality for kites (3.5-4).
The wing of a modern aircraft has a significant elongation, the optimum aerodynamic profile and the aircraft reaches 12–14, the mass of the structure is 7–40 kg, the load on the wing is 5–6 kg/m2, and the flight speed range is 25–90 km/h. Motor hang gliders equipped with a small engine (10-15 kW) for autonomous takeoff and climb have become widespread. At the Kiev Mechanical Plant named after O. K. Antonov, D. "Slavutich-UT" was created, which was accepted for serial production.

Aviation: Encyclopedia. - M.: Great Russian Encyclopedia. Chief editor G.P. Svishchev. 1994 .


Synonyms:

See what a "hang glider" is in other dictionaries:

    A hang glider is an aircraft heavier than air, made according to the scheme ... Wikipedia

    - [Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

    hang glider- a, m. deltaplan gr. delta delta + lat. planum surface. An aircraft with a triangular (delta) wing designed for gliding flight (usually one person). Krysin 1998. Lex. MAS 2 1981: hang glider ... Historical Dictionary of Gallicisms of the Russian Language

    - [de], ah, husband. A light non-motorized aircraft with a close-fitting frame, with a suspension system and a handle, an athlete holds on to the rue. Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov. S.I. Ozhegov, N.Yu. Shvedova. 1949 1992 ... Explanatory dictionary of Ozhegov

    Exist., number of synonyms: 6 hydromoto hang glider (1) motor hang glider (1) soarer ... Synonym dictionary

    - (device) ... Spelling Dictionary

    hang glider Encyclopedia "Aviation"

    hang glider- Rice. 1. The design of the hang glider. hang glider a glider with balanced control and a flexible wing that looks like the letter ∆ in plan. It consists (Fig. 1) of a frame made of pipes with a diameter of 3045 mm, on which a sealed fabric is stretched ... ... Encyclopedia "Aviation"

    Close up a hang glider to someone. Jarg. corner. Shuttle. iron. Throw the victim from a height. Baldaev 1, 107, 139; BBI, 66 ... Big dictionary of Russian sayings

    hang glider- HANG-GLIDING, a, m A sports vehicle is a light non-motorized aircraft with a close-fitting frame, with a triangular bearing surface intended for gliding flight, with a suspension system and a handle that is held by ... ... Explanatory dictionary of Russian nouns

Books

  • Hang glider of our dreams. Selected Poetry, Sergei Povalyaev, Collection of poetry by Sergei Povalyaev includes selected works of civil, love, philosophical and landscape lyrics. Many works have not yet been published ... Publisher:

Otto Lilienthal was the first to decide to master the sky. For 25 years, the scientist studied the flight of birds to soar into the sky in 1891. It was during this period that the researcher designed a monoplane, which later became the prototype of a hang glider. A relatively light apparatus with a curved wing allowed Lilental to launch from platforms located on embankments, slopes and soar in the air at an altitude of up to 300 meters. Realizing that the new device may not be too safe, the scientist previously conducted experiments on the ground.

After the tester had gained some experience in flying, he came to the conclusion that the design of the monoplane was imperfect. That is why he decided to change the device, making it like a biplane.

The next stage in the development of hang gliding is associated with the name of the American scientist Francis Rogallo. It was he who in 1951 invented the triangular wing for flight. The result of Rogallo's scientific research remained out of work until the moment when NASA announced a competition for the creation of a means for landing spacecraft. Francis Rogallo was among the authors who offered their invention "to the court" of this organization. As a result of numerous studies, the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing were confirmed, however, preference was given to the parachute.

Although the tests of the Pentagon and NASA did not lead to the expected result, they gave impetus to the development of a new sport. For the first time, water skiers from Australia used the Rogallo wing as a sports equipment. They tied the paraglider to the boat and hovered over the water. In 1963, Bill Moyes began selling a modified version of the wing, giving it the name "kite". Gradually, flights behind the boat began to spread to other countries, including Russia and the United States.

In 1971, at a meeting of balloonists in California, it was decided to combine the Australian glider model with the traditional one. The result of this was the hang glider. This type of air transport aroused considerable interest among completely different members of the public. This is largely due to the huge number of records that the conquerors of the air managed to achieve. The duration of flights increased, more and more peaks were conquered.

In September 1974, hang gliding was officially recognized as a sport. A federation was formed, in charge of which he was, competitions began to be organized. According to statistics for that period, hang gliding became a favorite pastime for 39,620 pilots as early as 1974. At the same time, the number of connoisseurs of this sport has increased every year.

The Hang Gliding Federation introduced the classification of devices. In accordance with the gradation, 2 classes of hang gliders were distinguished: with balancing and with aerodynamic control.

To date, the hang glider has acquired significant qualitative changes. First of all, there are new materials in the base. The device has become lighter, more maneuverable, its aerodynamic characteristics have improved significantly. That is why it is now easier for athletes to start from the ground. In addition, the pilot's equipment was supplemented by various electronic devices, including those for determining speed, flight altitude, as well as a navigation system. Hang gliding continues to maintain its position as one of the most spectacular and exciting sports. With the active participation of professionals, almost everyone can learn its basics and fly.

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