The pilot launches his or her machine by running to accelerate it to flying speed, then relaxes into the comfortable prone harness while controlling the glider by moving their weight in relation to the control bar. The current UK record for altitude stands at an astonishing 16,000ft. The UK record for distance currently stands at 338km, (210 miles), and was set by Carl Wallbank on a flight from SE Wales to Norfolk. Some pilots are content to soar the hill they launched from, whilst others prefer to search out rising pockets of air, known as thermals, and use these to undertake long cross country flights. Whichever launch technique is used, the objective is always the same, to stay airborne in lifting currents of air. In the flatlands, hang gliders can also be towed aloft by a land based motorised winch, or behind a microlight aircraft. Hang gliding is not however limited to upland environments. Hang glider pilots are suspended from their gliders by a special harness, and launch from hills facing into wind. The perfection of this graceful and efficient machine allows you to transport it to a launching site it on the roof of a car, assemble it in minutes and take-off into the heavens - where you and your glider will merge into a single entity bent on enjoying the purest form of flight ever invented! Hang gliding is real, in-the-breeze flying, limited only by your own ambitions and emerging abilities.

The modern hang glider, a simple yet sophisticated blend of aluminium tubes and high-tech sail fabrics, allows you to soar like an eagle, circling upwards to cover huge distances or simply to admire the finest vistas imaginable. Throughout the ages people have dreamed of being able to fly like a bird, but only within the last thirty years has this become a real possibility. 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.

First hang glider