THINGS PEOPLE DO : Hang Gliding: To Soar Like a Bird Is Paradise
For centuries, people have fancied flight.
But not until 1960--after the Wright Brothers took off, airplane travel mounted and orbiting the planet became a reality--did man achieve a flight this fancy.
That was when three men from Sydney, Australia, devised a way for humans to soar like birds, to attain what Greek mythology described in “The Flight of Icarus.” The men, Bill Bennett, John Dickenson and Bill Moyes, invented the hang glider.
“It’s as close to being a bird as a human can get,” said Joe Bill Henry, manager of the Torrey Flight Park. “You don’t have an engine. You have a wing and no noise, just you and the birds.”
The inventors had been towing flat kites on water skis until they read an article in Popular Science magazine about a wing designed by Francis Rogallo. The wing, attached to a parachute, was designed for NASA for space re-entry and made of flexible material covered over three tubes spread in a fan shape.
The men found that by using the Rogallo wing they had stability and maneuverability they didn’t have with the kite. They continued to tow the glider behind a boat.
“He (Rogallo) designed a parachute meant to come down,” said Bennett, who now lives in Los Angeles. “We designed the glider to go up. It’s like, the man who invented the wheel didn’t invent the car, but without the wheel you couldn’t have the car. It’s the same concept. There were a lot of trials and a lot of errors.”
Bennett brought the sport to the United States in 1969 by giving an exhibition at the National Water Skiing Championships at Berkeley. From there, Bennett received offers to tour and give exhibitions.
“Everyone was so amazed by it,” Bennett said. “So many people wanted to do it.”
At the inaugural race at the Ontario Motor Speedway, Bennett, giving a pre-race exhibition, was being towed behind a car. When the rope suddenly broke, Bennett was forced to maneuver and land the glider for the first time without being attached. The crowd, assuming it was part of the act, gave rousing applause.
From then, Bennett began to perfect launching and landing without the aid of a tow. One of his first test sites was at Torrey Pines Gliderport in La Jolla, now the location of one of his businesses, the Torrey Flight Park. Bennett has been manufacturing gliders since 1970 for Delta Wing Kites and Gliders, Inc., of which he is part owner. Moyes has remained his business partner and has a business of the same name in Sydney.
“Hang gliding is on the move with the aid of computers, and California is becoming the aerospace capital of the world,” Bennett said.
The first design cost about $325, Bennett said, but now some hang gliders cost just under $4,000.
First-timers to hang gliding often take tandem lessons. After a ground lesson, the student goes up with the instructor for one ride.
“It’s the best tool for learning,” said Dave Beardslee, tandem instructor at the Torrey Flight Park. “It’s like riding in a car before actually learning to drive it. You get the feel of it first.”
Beardslee, who has been an instructor for 16 years and has taken more than 2,500 people hang gliding, said that many tandem students are tourists who just want to try hang gliding once. Others, however, return for a lesson to fly solo.
Henry said he has had students from ages 6 to 85. The only weight requirement is an upper limit of 300 pounds. When learning to fly, solo students first have a ground lesson and are put on a simulator to get the feel of the glider. Then they are taken to a training hill where they progress from flat to 30 feet to 100 feet up the hill.
“You use certain muscles in the body like riding a bicycle, running long distances or swimming,” Henry said. “You use the same type of physical strength you’d use in those sports. But the glider isn’t hard to maneuver.”
To fly in San Diego at any national park without an instructor present, an advanced license is required. Licenses are earned through flight and instruction and are numbered: 1 for beginner, 2 for novice, 3 for intermediate and 4 for the advanced pilot. Each year, the license must be renewed.
Henry said students learn at their own pace; it usually takes about three or four lessons to earn a beginner’s license and about 12 to earn a novice license.
Because of the licensing and new features on the gliders, the sport has become much safer than when it first began. Pilots wear a parachute that could carry both himself and the glider safely to the ground in case of emergency.
Henry began hang gliding because he said he needed to try something different. He had parachuted in the Army, raced cars and motorcyles and tried scuba diving. He and a friend built a glider in a garage and taught themselves to fly it. From there, Henry earned his license and, later, his instructor’s license. Now, in addition to teaching, Henry is a test pilot for Delta Wing Kites and Gliders, Inc.
All gliders must be certified before they are sold. As a test pilot, Henry takes a new glider through quality-control tests.
“In the old days, a lot of people got hurt because there were no licenses or regulations,” Henry said. “Now it’s one of the safest sports.”
WHERE TO HANG GLIDE
* Hang Gliding Center (450-9008) 4206 Sorrento Valley Blvd., Del Mar. Hours: Closed Monday. Tuesday-Friday open at 9 a.m. to dark. Saturday 8-3, Sun. 8 to dark. Private lessons $130. Regular lessons $95. Introductory lesson $75. 12-lesson package $890.
* Torrey Flight Park, Inc. (452-3202) 2800 Torrey Pines Scenic Dr., La Jolla. Hours: 8 a.m. daily. Private lessons Monday-Friday $100. Regular lessons Saturday-Sunday $75. Tandem lesson, everyday $75.
* Ultimate High Aviation (748-1739) 13009 Acton Ave., Poway. Hours: Weekdays 8-3. Weekends 9 to dark. First day lesson $55. Additional lessons $45. Five-day package $220.