Abbreviated Quote by: Frank C.
“My personal opinion would be to not require weight shift as the only control method because that would eliminate almost all ridged wing hang gliders. Most non-flex wing gliders require some sort of movable control surfaces to obtain adequate control, especially in roll and horizontal direction.
If someone told me that my Skysail was not a hang glider, because of the tip "drag rudders", they would elicit some argument on my part.---”
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Abbreviated Quote by: joeF
“-----FAI struggled with definitions. NASA struggled with definitions. Patentees struggled with definitions. Glider history struggled with definitions. Various levels of sophistication in books have struggled with definitions. When governable parachutes gained in glide ratio there was some struggle with words to describe. Some parts of some definitions from some sources seem stickier than others. Another tactic is to write "For the purposes of our concern in this document or org, we will mean as "hang glider" the following: __________." Just what is said in agreement with readers may be carefully defined or fuzzily defined. The struggle continues. ---”
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Abbreviated Quote by: KaiMartin
“Seems like you US Hawks founders would like the definition to serve several purposes simultaneously:
1) include all existing devices you want to be included
2) exclude all existing devices you don't want included
3) include all future devices you want to be included
4) exclude all future devices you don't want included
The last purposes are the most difficult. You just don't know what is going to pop up in the future. IMHO, there is no way to know in advance whether or not the future device would make a welcome addition or should be referred to its own orgs. Consequently, I'd not try to deal with future devices at all. After all, the definition can be amended if/when new types of flying devices become viable.--”
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Abbreviated Quote by: Rick M.
“NASA called an early Rogallo a "paraglider."
It was actually a hang glider - as established by definitions set even before the turn of the century.
That started a problem with labels.
It was a governmental screw-up that created an inaccurate technical language that migrated into popular vernacular.
But I don't have to buy into it.
In fact, I reject it.---”
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Abbreviated Quote by bobk:
"----The US Hawks is a hang gliding association, and I suggest that "hang gliding"
is a fine term to use in our mission statement without needing to define it further.---"
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I asked Joe if we could separate from our work on the US Hawks Mission Statement the definition of, “What is a Hang Glider?”
Also that we separate this discussion from the BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRIVATE DISCUSSIONS and get input from members outside of the board.
Thanks Joe for going along with my request.
Thanks everyone for opening my eyes to what I thought was a topic that was, cut and dried, short and sweet, plane and simple.
We can revisit, “What is a Hang Glider,” as new developments arise in the future.
There is a consensus that my definition would have been to exclusive and I accept that.
Please feel free to add to this thread your thoughts.
If members of the Trial Board of Directors are in agreement I suggest we return now to the, Board of Directors Private Discussions to move forward with the US Hawks Mission Statement. The conclusions the Trial Board Members come to at this point are not cast in stone but only advisory in nature. Bob K. will move any of the Trial Board Members’ decisions to the, Board of Directors Decisions thread.
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