Do you have to have wind inorder to hang glide?

Question

Do you have to have wind inorder to hang glide?

Answer 1

ya. they catch updrafts like over valleys.

Answer 2

Not really. you do need APPARENT WIND, or air moving past the glider's wing, but this can be from forward motion, not just a breeze.

Answer 3

No. you only need airspeed. You just need to have air moving over the wing due to forwards motion. You can tow a hang-glider aloft with a car and a tow rope and then glide back down although car towing is rather difficult and dangerous. You can more safely learn to hang glide in zero wind by running down a hill. If the slope of the hill is steeper than the glide slope of the glider you can gain a lot of height above the ground.(although you will still be at a lower altitude than your starting point) The higher your start point, the longer your flight can be.

If you wish to maintain height however you will need some uplift from a thermal or a breeze blowing against and up a hillside.

The later technique is known as slope or ridge soaring.

Answer 4

Hang gliders rely on thermal updrafts to stay aloft.  It is not wind in the sense of horizontally moving air, but rising currents of warm air that push the glider into the air; generally these are around mountains.