What is Hang Gliding?

The Space-Age Kite

Hang-gliders allow people to experience the graceful feeling of flight that the birds used to have all to themselves. The technology that allows this to happen may appear simple, but it actually has its roots in space exploration. The story goes that Richard Miller, the editor of a gliding magazine, happened to notice the shape of a kite that the researchers at NASA had engineered for the re-collection of space-craft. Miller used the shape of this kite as his inspiration to build the first hang-glider ever out of bamboo and polyethylene, which he tested successfully in 1964.

This simple invention of Miller's touched off a world-wide boom, and hang gliders have been growing more advanced ever since. Although it is not yet a full fledged competition, hang gliding is an officially recognized event at the Olympics, and has also become a synonym for flying sports in general. The kite invented to carry space ships has begun carrying us as well, it seems.

Photograph: JAPAN HANGGLIDING FEDERATION

Academic Adviser, Prof. Keiji KAWACHI
Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo