What Is Hang Gliding and How Do You Fly?

Hang gliding is unpowered flight with a lightweight wing. The pilot hangs in a harness below a triangular frame, launches by running down a slope and stays airborne by using rising air. Did you know that the basic idea was tested more than a century ago by German engineer Otto Lilienthal, who made over two thousand glides in the 1890s?

How a Hang Glider Flies

The wing is a fabric sail stretched over an aluminium or carbon frame. The pilot lies in a prone position and steers by shifting body weight against a control bar. To stay up for a long time, pilots look for thermals, columns of warm rising air, or ridge lift where wind is pushed upwards by a hillside.

A short history

After Lilienthal's early experiments, modern hang gliding developed in the 1960s and 1970s, when flexible wing designs studied by NASA engineer Francis Rogallo were adapted for sport flying.

Hang Gliding vs Paragliding

• Wing: a hang glider has a rigid frame; a paraglider is a soft fabric wing with lines.
• Position: hang glider pilots fly lying down; paraglider pilots sit in a harness.
• Speed: hang gliders fly faster and can glide further.
• Transport: a paraglider fits in a backpack, while a hang glider needs a vehicle.

Can Beginners Try It?

The easiest way to experience gliding is a tandem flight, where you fly with a qualified instructor who controls the wing. Learning to fly solo requires a course, a pilot licence and many supervised flights.

Flying in Türkiye

Commercial tandem hang gliding is rare in Türkiye, but paragliding is widely available. Ölüdeniz near Fethiye is world-famous, and in Antalya province tandem paragliding flights over Alanya offer views of the castle and Cleopatra Beach. It is the closest experience to hang gliding most holidaymakers can book.

What a tandem flight feels like

Most passengers are surprised by how calm it is. After a few running steps the wing lifts you gently, the noise of the wind fades and you glide quietly above the landscape. Landings are usually soft, on your feet or seated in the harness.