I watched a show on hang gliding last night. Unfortunately it was long on pretty pictures and very short on dialog. They didn’t spend any time at all explaining hang glider structure.
How does the ‘sling’ work? It looks a bit like a sleeping bag. Obviously the pilot needs to run a bit to launch and land. How does he get his legs in and out? Does the sling have stiffeners in it to make it easier to get the legs in and out?
It’s called a harness. The type you are referring to is known as a “pod”. There is a zipper that runs along the front roughly from the waist to the just below the knees… The zipper is not sewn, but held in with velcro so it can be ripped out if it jams prior to landing. The zipper has at least one cord attached so the pilot doesn’t have to reach the slider.
There is typically some foam between the outer shell and lining that gives the pod some stiffness, but no ribs as such. (some very close fitting ones have stays along the back, though)
The pod has internal “crotch” straps that keep the pilot from sliding out the bottom when his/her feet are out. Part of the preflight is making sure your legs went through these when you slithered into the harness.
The foam is maily for warmth, with 25-30 mph wind chill at altitude it is useful and welcome even in august.
if you google “hang glider” and one of cocoon, spaghetti, knee-hanger you will see other types of prone harnesses.
two other styles of harness are seated and supine. I’ve only seen a couple of supine harnesses and never flown one, so am pretty ignorant on how they work.
Do you know of a specific site that illustrates the process of ingress and egress?
Sorry to resurrect this, but I thought of it again.
I googled ‘hang glider’ and ‘cocoon’, but I didn’t find how they actually work. That is, what is the cocoon doing during launch? Once launched, how does the pilot get his feet into it?
It more or less sticks out behind the pilot like a tail and the pilot just sticks their feet in. A video is probably a lot better then a description.
So it’s only closed around the last 12 inches or so? It’s a quick shot in the video, but it looks like the cocoon is somewhat stiff. The pilot runs, and when he’s airborne he picks up his feet and puts them into the cocoon as if he’s putting them on a crossbrace of a chair he’s sitting in.
A pod harness usually has a footrest that consists of a piece of PVC pipe strung on a nylon cord that connects to the intenal harness near the hips. Once airborne, the pilot places his feet on the footrest and pushes, which straightens the pod, making it easier to pull the pod zipper closed.
It sure looks like fun. Too bad my knees were destroyed so I can’t run.
You could probably manage a tandem flight (with an experienced tandem pilot) on a windy day. If the wind is blowing over 15 miles an hour, you will become airborne in only a couple of steps, and an experienced tandem pilot can do a spot landing (like a bird landing on a wire) that requires no running at all.
Check it out, it is the most amazing feeling to fly like a bird. If you are in LA, I can recommend a tandem pilot.
Wow, such a zombie thread I don’t recall writing that…but thats my story and I’m sticking to it.
A Cocoon harness is open all along the pilot’s back, and the pilot lays in it like it was a tray…still has the leg/crotch straps. The lower part is folded up and held there by the pilot’s teeth during launch so he/she doesn’t trip over it. They kind of straddle the lower part for landing.
What you are asking about is called a “pod” harness.
How I (used to) put myself into my pod harness:
-Unzip lower part.
-Set lower part horizontally on ground. Upper part verticle.
-Straddle lower part.
-Spread apart (padded) shoulder straps. These are integral with the shell of the harness in the chest area, but not at the shoulder blades. They attach to the hang point internally.
-Place one leg down between shoulder straps, and get foot through one leg loop.
-Repeat above step with second foot. Try not to fall down in process.
-Struggle back to feet. Check to see if anyone saw me fall over.
-Now I am standing there with the leg loops around my ankles, and a shoulder strap on each side of my knees. Tail of the harness laying on ground behind me.
-Pull up on shoulder straps while doing the wiggle and shimmy. Picture a rubenesque woman putting on a girdle. Pause occasionally as leg straps will bunch up pants and stop progress.
-When shoulder straps reach about waist level, put hands through under the shoulder straps (through arm holes if you will)
-Continue working harness upward untill shoulder straps go over shoulders.
-Untwist, flatten and position crotch straps clear of male junk.
-Walk around looking like a cross between a kangaroo and the Gorn on TOS until ready to fly.
If you want clarification on specific things, I can dig my old harness out of the attic and take some photos for you. Don’t be in a hurry though…I have to do some cleaning in the garage in order to access the attic…yeah, I should do that anyway…don’t ask.