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PREFACE

CHAPTER 1 - PERFECTING THE PILOT

I - THE COMPLETE PILOT
The Gift of Insight...Making the Scene...A Store of Lore...The Intermediate Syndrome...The Advanced Syndrome...Fear of Flying...Decisions, Decisions...Judging Space...Shadow Talk...The Other Pilot

II - JUDGING CONDITIONS
Dangers...Wind Direction...Looking for Lift

III - FLYING STYLES OR POSITIONS
The prone Position...The Supine Position

CHAPTER 2 - THE ART OF FLYING

I - TECHNIQUES TOUCH-UP
Takeoffs for Experts...Soft Landings...Spot Landing...Bad Habits

II - FLYING IN DIFFERENT CONDITIONS
High Wind Adventures...High Wind Landings...Turbulence Tribulations...Winging in the Rain...The Threat and Dread of Cloud Suck...Losing Altitude...Escaping Cloud Suck Storms...Flying at Altitude...Escaping Aircraft

III - STRETCHING YOUR WINGS
Feelings in the Air...Using Your Glider's Speeds...Going Fast...Practicing Techniques...Introducing High Performance Gliders

CHAPTER 3 - MAXIMIZING TURNS

I - EFFECTIVE COORDINATED TURNS
Coordinated Turns...Adverse Yaw...High Siding

II - TURN VARIATIONS
The VG in Turns...Flat Turns--Yaw Turns...Punch Turns...Pitching a Turn...Diving Turns

III - SPECIAL TURNS
Slips...Spiral Turns...Skids...Stall Turns...Spins

IV - TURN EFFECTS
Turning Radius...Wing Loading...Turn Polars...Turning in Thermals

CHAPTER 4 - WINGS AND THINGS

I - THE HANG GLIDER BUYERS GUIDE
Just Your Type...Test Flying

II - PREENING YOUR WINGS
Performance Testing...Tuning for Handling...Working out a Turn...Performance Tuning...Removing Sail Wrinkles...Sail Material

III - THE HARNESS
Pod Harness Types...Choosing a Pod...Harness Options...Using a Pod Harness...Harness Care

IV - INSTRUMENTS
Variometer Features...Variometer Variations...Variometer Errors...Altimeters...Altimeter Errors...Airpeed Indicators...Other Instruments

V - PARACHUTES
Parachute Parts...Parachute Performance...Parachute Sizing...The Bridle...Delivery Systems...Parachute Packing...Parachute Use...Parachute Care

VI - MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT
Full-Face Helmet...Radio...Oxygen...Other Gear

CHAPTER 5 - EXCELLING IN THERMALS

I - EFFICIENT THERMALING
Entering a Thermal...Centering a Thermal...Using Your Senses...Using Your Vario...Practice Makes Perfect

II - FINDING AND DETECTING THERMALS
Looking for Lift...Dust Devils...Haze Domes...Cloud Indicators...Using Cumulus Clouds...Birds and Other Pilots...Near Thermal Clues...Finding a Lost Thermal

III - THERMALS TYPES
Bubble or Column...Thermals in Wind...Cloud Streets/Thermal Streets...Blue Thermals...Convective Barriers and Thermal Waves...Thermals in the Shade

IV - THERMAL THEORY
Thermal Behavior...Thermal Distribution...Thermals West...Thermals East

CHAPTER 6 - ADVANCED TECHNIQUES

I - TRICKY LAUNCHES
Windy Launches...Self-Launching in Wind...Launching in Cycles

II - USING LIFT
Thermals on a Ridge or Hill...Racing Along a Ridge...Scratching Conditions...Convergence Lift...Wave Lift

III - FLYING IN TRAFFIC
Traffic on the Ridge...Gaggle Flying

IV - ADVANCED PILOT MISCELLANY
Flying in Dust Devils...Flying in Clouds...Using a Variable Geometry System...Copping a Glide...Pioneering a New Site...Emergency Procedures

V - LANDING COMPLICATIONS
Turbulent, Switchy Conditions...Crosswind Landings...Landing in High Vegetation...Landing in Small Fields...Cross Slope and Downhill Landings...Uphill, Downwind Landings

CHAPTER 7 - USING SPEEDS-TO-FLY

I - SPEED-TO-FLY BASICS
What is Speed-to-Fly...A Bit of History...Speed-to-Fly Uses

II - THE PERFORMANCE MAP
Polar Details

III - CASE I - FLYING FOR DISTANCE
Bucking a Head Wind...Riding a Tail Wind...Gliding in Lift...In Sinking Air...Condition Combinations...Using Speeds-to-Fly

IV - THE SPEED RING
The Speed Ring Construction...Using a Speed Ring--Case I

V - POSITIONS-TO-FLY
Horizontal Winds...In Vertical Air

VI - ALTERING YOUR POLAR
Weight Changes...Altitude Changes

VII - CASE II - FLYING FOR SPEED
Finding the Best Speed...Maximizing Average Speed...Using a Speed Ring...
Case II...Practicing Best Average Speed Techniques

VIII - SPEED-TO-FLY ERRORS
Pilot Errors...Physical Errors

IX - PLOTTING YOUR POLAR
Gathering Data...Drawing the Curve

X - FINAL GLIDE
Final Glide for Minimum Time

CHAPTER 8 - CROSS-COUNTRY FLYING

I - BEGINNING YOUR ODYSSEY
Wht Flying Cross-Country?...Leaving Home for the First Time...Landing Considerations...Retrieve--Solving the Main Problem...Preparing for X-C

II - CROSS-COUNTRY STRATEGIES
Directions to Fly...Flying Out-and-Back and Triangles...Speeds-to-Fly/Positions-
to-Fly...Cross-Country Navigation...Getting Lost...Getting Found...Altimeter Settings...Timing Your Departure

III - FINDING AND USING LIFT
Thermal Search Plan...Multiple Sources...Lift Probabilities...Reading Gaggles...
Using Streets...Crossing Blue Holes...Overdevelopment...Hitting the Flatlands

IV - GOING FURTHER
Teamwork...Altitudes to Fly...Dolphin Flight Techniques...Leaving Lift...The Final Glide

V - LANDING OUT
Landing Hazards...Landing Complications...Landing Conveniently...Detecting Wind Directions...Finding your Distance

CHAPTER 9 - COMPETITION FLYING

I - PREPARING FOR COMPETITION
Beginning Competition...Training for Competition...Competition Equipment...Competition Types...Scoring Formats and Rules...Pre-Meet Practice

II - THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Attitude...The War of Nerves...Mental Toughness...Cheating...Ground and Chase Crew

III - WINNING STRATEGY
The Overll Plan...Becoming a Winner...Pre-Launch Preparation...Weather Briefings...Takeoff Strategy...In the Air...Using Lift Bands...Following Leaders...Shifting Gears

IV - WINNING TACTICS
Team Flying...Racing With Gaggles...Entering and Exiting Thermals...Course Deviations...Turn Points...Using Ballast...Dolphin Flying...The Final Glide... Making Goal

CHAPTER 10 - TOWING ALOFT

I - THE BIG PICTURE
Towing History...Towing Types...Towing Problems...Center-of-Mass Towing...The Skyting Criteria...Towing Equipment

II - PAYOUT WINCH/PLATFORM LAUNCH
The Payout Winch System...Equipment for Payout Towing...Payout Winch Procedures...Flying in Crosswinds...Water Towing

III - AIR-TO-AIR TOWING
Aerotowing Overview...Aerotowing Equipment...Aerotowing Procedures...Flying in Thermals...Crosswind Towing

IV - STATIC WINCH/STATIC LINE TOWING
Static Line Towing...Static Winch Towing...Step Towing

CHAPTER 11 - FURTHER ADVENTURES

I - TANDEM FLIGHT
Pilot Qualifications...Equipment Considerations...The Tandem Setup...Taking off Tandem...Tandem in Flight...Landing Tandem

II - AEROBATIC FLYING
Wangs, Spins and Loops...Preparing for Aerobatics...Learning to Wang...Spinning a Hang Glider...Loops...Air Shows and Aerial Ballets

III - FLYING FIXED WINGS
The Fixed Wing Story...Flying a Fixed Wing

IV - BALLOON DROPS
Balloon Drop Equipment...Balloon Drop Procedures

V - SETTING RECORDS
The Paperwork...Record Setting Possibilities...Measuring Distance...Going for it

VI - TRAVELING WITH YOUR GLIDER
Flying With your Glider

CHAPTER 12 - DESIGN CONCEPTS

I - DESIGNING FOR PERFORMANCE
An Overview...The Designer's Choice...Effective Aspect Ratio...Lift Distribution...The Drag Story...Wing Loading...Overall Performance

II - DESIGNING FOR HANDLING
The Sources of Good Handling...Glider Flexibility...Glider Size...Airframe Geometry...Stall Effects

III - STABILITY CONSIDERATIONS
Hang Glider Stability

IV - THE HANG GLIDER AIRFOIL
The Airfoil Job--Efficient Deflection...Airfoil Shapes...Airfoil Stability...Airfoil Decisions...Reynolds Number...Boundary Layer

V - THE AIRFRAME
Airframe Background...Stress in Flight...Airframe Material
VI - THE ONCE AND FUTURE WING
Fixed Wings...Cantilevered Wings...Flaps and Washout Control...Other Configurations

CHAPTER 13 - AEROMEDICAL FACTORS

I - THE SENSES
Vertigo and Balance...The Eye in the Air...Ear Problems

II - EXTERNAL FACTORS
Hypoxia...Hypothermia...Alcohol and Drugs...Carbon Monoxide...Decompression

III - HUMAN FACTORS
Physical Fitness...Fatigue and Other Factors...Nutrition...Psychological Factors

APPENDIX

GLOSSARY

INDEX

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