A foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG), also called powered harness, nanolight, or hangmotor, is a powered

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

harness with a motor and

propeller A propeller (often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon a working flu ...

often in

pusher configuration In aeronautical and naval engineering, pusher configuration is the term used to describe a drivetrain of air- or watercraft with propulsion device(s) after the engine(s). This is in contrast to the more conventional tractor configuration, wh ...

, although some can be found in tractor configuration. An ordinary

is used for its

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

and control frame, and the pilot can foot-launch from a hill or from flat ground, needing a length of about a football field to get airborne, or much less if there is an oncoming breeze and no obstacles.

History

Adding propulsion

While powered microlights (ultralights) developed from hang gliding in the late 1970s, they were also a return to the type of low-speed aircraft that were common in the earlier years of aviation, but which were superseded as both civil and military aircraft pursued more speed. For a second time in aviation history, during the 1970s, motorization of simple gliders, especially those portable and foot-launched, became the goal of many inventors and gradually, small wing-mounted power packs were adapted. These early experiments went largely unrecorded, even in log books, let alone the press, because the pioneers were uncomfortably aware that the addition of an engine made the craft liable to registration, airworthiness legislation, and the pilot liable to expensive licensing and probably, insurance. Inventors from

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

produced several successful microlight motor gliders in the early 1970sFrench aviation historians on FLPHG
/ref> and very few were portable wings.

Don Mitchell

Surprisingly, what really launched the powered

ultralight aviation Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and Aircraft flight control system, conventional three-a ...

movement in the United States was not the Rogallo flexible wing but a whole series of rigid-wing motorized hang gliders. The Icarus V flying wing appeared with its tip rudders and swept-back style wing was used as a base for some powered experiments. Differently, a rigid biplane designed also by teenager Taras Kiceniuk Jr., the Icarus II was a foundation for a modification in Larry Mauro's UFM Easy Riser biplane that started to sell in large numbers; Larry Mauro would power his tail-less biplane; one version was solar powered, called the Solar Riser. Hang gliding record holder Don Mitchell fitted his Mitchell Wing B-10 with a motor, though the pilot still had to use their legs as undercarriage, an arrangement which persisted until he designed the B-10 Mitchell Wing.

Barry Palmer

In 1963, and during his free time, aeronautical engineer Barry Palmer built and experimented with a foot-launched powered hang glider at Bloomfield, Connecticut. It was powered by a West Bend engine and mounted on top of a Rogallo-type flexible wing hang glider; the propeller was in diameter and was made of balsa wood, covered with

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

and mounted in pusher configuration. However, the engine was quite underpowered and the craft could not achieve flight. It is now estimated that a modern flexible Rogallo wing hang glider requires at least at the prop shaft and about 45 lbf (200 N) of thrust just to maintain level flight. During 1967, Barry Palmer built what is likely the first weight-shift powered trike aircraft.

John Moody

On March 15, 1975, John Moody successfully added a West Bend engine with a 71 cm (28 in) propeller to an UFM Easy Riser biplane hang glider designed by Larry Mauro. Moody opened the throttle and ran until he lifted from the frozen surface of a

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

west of

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

, and he flew for 30 minutes. Then on July 27, 1976, John Moody demonstrated ultralight aviation at the annual EAA fly-in convention in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

, with a foot launched McCulloch 101 powered ''Icarus II'' in front of thousands of spectators, starting the modern

revolution in the United States. Later, he added wheels to the aircraft and by the end of 1979, there were almost 100 competing companies selling powered ultralights (microlights) but very few were foot-launchable. Soarmaster standard flphg power unit

Terry Sweeney

In 1977, Terry Sweeney developed a twintube kingpost mount for attaching an engine to a Rogallo-type flex-wing glider. He envisioned that this would enable hang gliders to make 1,000 mile flights over several days on 10 gallons of gas. However, the kingpost mount proved to be quite dangerous in turbulent conditions.

Jerzy Kolecki

In 1979, a powered backpack called the Motolotnia - White Eagle, designed by Jerzy Kolecki, became available for sale. It consisted of a 90 cc McCulloch

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable handheld power saw, power saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. Modern chainsaws are typically gasoline or electric and are used in activities such as t ...

engine with a direct drive 61 cm (24") wooden prop, producing a quoted 77 lbf (340 N) of thrust; the rate of climb was about 150 ft/min (0.76 m/s) and flight duration was limited by the small fuel tank and engine overheating after several minutes. Other powered harnesses to reach the market in the 1980s were The Ranger and the Relax 220.

Others

By 2008, there were a few harness designs similar to the Swedish Aerosport Mosquito, each sporting unique strengths, and produced by other FLPHG manufacturers. The latest generation of powered harnesses bear names such as Wasp, Flylight Doodle Bug, Raven, X1, Zenon, Airtime Explorer, Fillo, and Flyped.

World records

La Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) is the international standard-setting and record-keeping body for

aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design process, design, and manufacturing of air flight-capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. While the term originally referred ...

and

astronautics Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics' ...

, so it also oversees the official records by foot-launched powered hang gliders, currently under the RWF1 category.

Unofficial records

Unofficial FLPHG World Records – Confirmed but not validated by the FAI. *On August 5, 1978, French pioneer Bernard Danis mated a Soarmaster unit to this ''SK 2SS'' wing and climbed to above sea level at the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

. *On May 9, 1978, David Cook became the first pilot to cross the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

while flying a foot-launched powered hang glider; he used a Volmer VJ-23 Swingwing glider. * On May 7, 1979, British pilot Gerry Breen set a new distance record for FLPHG of from

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

, a non-stop world distance record that still stands today; using a Soarmaster, the flight took about 4 hours with a

tailwind A tailwind is a wind that blows in the direction of travel of an object, while a headwind blows against the direction of travel. A tailwind increases the object's speed and reduces the time required to reach its destination, while a headwind has ...

of about and reportedly consumed of fuel. Three months later, on August 25 through 28, inspired by the film " Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and sponsored by

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

, Breen flew his powered hang glider from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

: Wishing to use a British made aircraft, Gerry Breen and Steve Hunt set about building with their version of the powered Soarmaster, but had no clutch. The unit, including glider, was considerably heavier than the Soarmaster and ''Olympus'' glider combination but the wing was much more robust. The hang glider was a ''Hiway Super Scorpion'' with a McCulloch 125 cc engine mounted on the keel just forward of the hang strap. The journey was plagued with mechanical failures but Breen overcame them and completed the trip. * In July 2002,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

hang gliding champion and conservationist, Angelo d'Arrigo, guided a flock of 10 endangered western

Siberian crane The Siberian crane (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus''), also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the crane (bird), cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all White, snowy whi ...

s, bred in captivity, with an Icaro hang glider equipped with an NRG powered harness from the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the northernmost of the five major circle of latitude, circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N. Its southern counterpart is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circl ...

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, across

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

to the shores of the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, avoiding

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

where they fall victim to the abundant guns. For the most part, he relied on the sun and wind for propulsion in order to teach the young cranes to soar long distances. This $250,000 USD experiment lasted for six months and finished in winter 2002. * On May 24, 2009, Irish pilot Patrick Laverty broke the foot-launched powered hang glider altitude world record. He used an ''Aeros Discus 15 '' hang glider coupled to a supine custom-made harness equipped with a 29 hp ROS 125 engine with the ''Supa-Tuna'' tuning lights system on a WB32 carburettor. Takeoff was at sea level and he flew to an altitude of ASL over Talybont, Ceredigion,

, UK. He carried oxygen and 10 litres of fuel, per U.K. regulations; his

variometer In aviation, a variometer – also known as a rate of climb and descent indicator (RCDI), rate-of-climb indicator, vertical speed indicator (VSI), or vertical velocity indicator (VVI) – is one of the flight instruments in an aircraft used to in ...

indicated 30 to 50fpm climb rate at the time fuel ran out.

Systems

Currently, there are two harness configurations: prone (face down) and sitting. Both configurations allow the pilot to takeoff and land on their feet. Foot-launched powered hang glider (FLPHG) harnesses are built around a light metal frame with the engine and propeller mounted on the rear in a

. Current powered harnesses weigh 22–32 kg (50-70 lb) not including the safety

parachute A parachute is a device designed to slow an object's descent through an atmosphere by creating Drag (physics), drag or aerodynamic Lift (force), lift. It is primarily used to safely support people exiting aircraft at height, but also serves va ...

and fuel, and fold neatly into a long harness bag with a handle. Most powered harnesses in production are equipped with the Radne Raket 120

two stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

engine which is based on Husqvarna XP3120

parts. It has a displacement of and produces about at 8900

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

if equipped with a

tuned exhaust In an internal combustion engine, the geometry of the exhaust system can be optimised ("tuned") to maximise the power output of the engine. Tuned exhausts are designed so that reflected pressure waves arrive at the exhaust port at a particular t ...

; when coupled to a 1:3.5 belt-driven reduction drive and a 52" x 22" propeller, it produces about 100 lbf (440 N) of static

thrust Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's third law. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction, the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction to be applied to that ...

. For heavy pilots or pilots operating from higher than MSL fields, a powered harness equipped with an engine is recommended.

Electric motors

* Richard Kruger-Sprengel (Helix Propeller) and German designer Werner Eck, have produced at least two electric powered paraglider (EPPG) prototypes,

Timeline for electric-powered foot-launched gliders

* 1979 April 29: at Flabob Airport, California, Larry Mauro flew the Solar Riser with an electric motor powered by storage batteries charged from the sun. The Solar Riser was a modified Easy Riser hang glider. * 2001 Richard Kruger Sprengel electric drive for paraglider. * 2006, June 6: in Canada, Casaba Lemak takes off using an electric paraglider. * 2006, December 19: Prototype electric paramotor from Helix-Carbon GmbH shows electric motor during the Coupe Icare in Saint Hilaire, France. * 2007 at the German Free Flight Trade Fair in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Werner Eck and Jochen Geiger displayed electric drives for hang gliders and paragliders. *2007 Razeebus Aircraft * The E-Lift hang glider system by Toni Roth, Fronreute, Germany * 2009 E-flight Expo displayed some electric paragliders.E-Flight Expo at AERO Friedrichshafen 2009
/ref>

Patents

US Patent 4262863
Filed: January 16, 1978. ''Powered hang glider with reduction drive'' by Charles J. Slusarczyk.
US Patent 4417707
Filed: January 26, 1982. ''Human powered hang glider'' by Ken Leong. This type of powered hang glider is powered by the muscle exertion of the hang glider pilot. This patent references earlier teachings affecting powered hang glider design.
US Patent 5170965
Filed: April 30, 1991. ''Hang glider which can fly by human strength'' by Hiroaki Yasuda.

References

{{Aircraft types (by method of thrust and lift) Hang gliding Powered hang gliders pt:Asa delta