Many people enjoy the thrill of flying a hang-glider – Patrick Monro, director of Aqua Air Adventure, is no exception. Meet Patrick Monro – passionate about hang-gliders This turns them into microlights and means they can take off and climb from flat ground just like a normal aircraft. Some hang-glider pilots attach small motors and propellers to their hang-gliders. If there is a stronger breeze, the glider will start gaining altitude. For example, if a glider is flying over a vertical coastal cliff and there is a light breeze blowing in directly from the sea and the air is being forced vertically upwards by the cliff at 3.6 km/h, the hang-glider can fly along the cliff without losing height. In order to not lose height, a hang-glider must find air going up as fast as the glider is descending. A hang-glider descends at the rate of about 1 metre per second (a slow walking pace of about 3.6 km/h). If the air is still, it will slowly descend. The aerofoil is then drawn up into the area of low pressure, producing lift. Meanwhile, the downward and forward motion of the wing compresses the air flowing under the wing. The aerofoil forces the air flowing over the top of the wing to travel faster, thereby ‘stretching’ it to produce a low-pressure area. The aerofoil shape of the wing stops the hang-glider from dropping like a stone. The weight produces the thrust that keeps the aerofoil moving through the air. This is the weight of the pilot and the wing. Gravity is the main force on a hang-glider. It has to be launched from somewhere high like a hill or mountain. Since a hang-glider is unpowered, it can’t take off from low ground.
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