I am anxiously progressing through my first few lessons and while im not trying to get too far ahead of myself here i can't help but dream of owning my own glider. I was looking at some of the gliders, harnesses, parachutes, etc and wow, it really adds up.... some of the harnesses seem pretty steep... $2000 - $3000 just for a harness??? ugh.
anyways i was curious if some of you might talk a little bit about your first set-up. did you get new or used? what harness, glider, chute did you get and how much did you spend. are you happy with what you got and if you did it again what would you get??? thank you.
New WW Falcon 1 195 in '98 about $3000
New HES Quantum 330 parachute about $800
Used WW Z3 harness about $300
Used vario/helmet/ASI/wheels about $200 (mini Breadpan-AEROS-Hall brands)
TOTAL $4300
These can be one time purchases so that's pretty cheap.
I still have the Falcon, but the harness,parachute and vario and wing I upgraded
over the years.
_________________ "Tow me up. I'll find my way down"
Kansas City Hang Glider Supplies
Guggenmos E7
WW U2 145
WW F1 195
FlyTec 6015
CG 1000
Tracer Plus
Organ Donor
Torrey Hawk #212
10 flight old Sport 2. High Energy Tracer harness. Brauninger IQ vario with speed sensor. Charlie Insider helm. Tow equipment. And a few odds and ends for $4500. Plus shipping. _________________ Airborne Climax 14 (C1)
WW U2
H3
AT, FL,ST, RLF, TUR.
There is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. … Clearly, it is this second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties. ~~~Douglas Adams
Glider ---- Mark IV-19 good condition = $650.00 Built in the early 80's
Brand New set of bottom fly wires (Front, Sides and Tail) = $200.00
Harness, Helmet, New PDA Chute = All traded even up for my Radio Controlled Helicopter. $1200.00 Value
So point being,... You can get very good used equipment as long as you take your time. After buying your wing, take it and have it checked out by an authorized hang glider technician who will give you a complete check of the frame and check the whole glider over to make sure it's safe to fly and if needed will have parts replaced if worn.
If your going to buy a used wing, at least get a set of new side wires right off the bat. That way you know what those wires have been through and not thinking if they are going to hold your wings together or not because of some hidden defect.
You can have wire strands broken inside of the main wire and may not even see the broken strands which will weaken the side wires considerably which could cause a wing collapse so just get new side wires and or a complete set of bottom wires and you'll have a solid piece of mind while flying.
Hope this helps you out and remember:, take your time. Don't rush your life! think about that.
Manta standard (new) with harness, helmet and instruction = $550
Chutes and wheels were non-existent.
Depending on where your are flying, chutes are not always needed. _________________ H-4 (1976) UP Saturn 147 & UP Axis 13
The Cloudbase Foundation
Learn to fly hang gliders (click here}
Torrey Hawks #208
Last edited by Windlord on Wed Jun 27, 2012 6:32 am; edited 2 times in total
If you have a 'typical' hang glider build, getting a used harness can get you pretty far without breaking the bank.
For me (and this is only a year ago, as opposed to these nearly ancient setups some of the others in this thread have described ;) ) :
Glider: Used Moyes Sonic 165, great condition, $1340.
Harness: Used CG-1000, $200. (with a bag)
Helmet: Motorcross type helmet $150 or 175 (new). I splurged a lot here and look silly a lot of the time but would argue it is worth it, just in case.
Radio ~$200 (new)
Parachute ~$450
Altogether ~$2400. You can skip the radio and get a cheap helmet. I don't really recommend either of these, however.
The car so that I could drive to the flying sites was a bit pricier.....
Good luck!
Michael L
Edit: Very happy with what I've got. At some point I might go for a sport 2 to get a tad more glide and also a glider such that the parts are easier to find/replace. But I figure that provided I don't destroy my stuff, I can get a lot of the cash back from these -- the Sonic should still be worth a good bit of change in a few years (its a lot newer than some old mark 4s which can still sell for a good bit of change), the radio is worth $, as is the harness and parachute.
First gear purchased in 2006:
WW Falcon 2, supposedly new: $2750
HE Tracer harness, new: $750
HE parachute, new: $600
helmet: Xmas present from Mom
That's the minimum stuff to fly, though there were numerous other acquisitions as well (vario, a couple more wings, bar mitts, radio, headset, glider inspections and repairs, cameras, GPS, rack parts, etc. etc. and of course lessons). But the above four items allowed me to fly, and I've flown with that exact gear within the last couple of months. I'll also add that the three gliders I've bought since then (all used) cost less than the Falcon. _________________ H4 + various skills (only foot-launch so far)
WW UltraSport 147, WW Falcon2 170, PacAir Vision Mark IV 17
My HG wiki profile and my flying blog
Last edited by jjcote on Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:57 pm; edited 1 time in total
Wills Wing Falcon III 195 ...3200.00
High Energy cocoon harness and older parachute...600.00
Harness came with a Up Formula Hang Glider in decent shape
6005 Flytec Vario...500.00
Wheels...65.00
Home made roof rack...50.00
Try to buy a new glider. You will feel more confident on takeoff.
You can live without the vario, but I love mine.
You don't need a new harness, but will soon covet a pointy pod harness.
I bought all this within the time it took me to convince myself to do this right up through lessons and first solo, about six months or so.
Allow alot of lead time for the new glider. Repeat...alot.
I am anxiously progressing through my first few lessons and while im not trying to get too far ahead of myself here i can't help but dream of owning my own glider. I was looking at some of the gliders, harnesses, parachutes, etc and wow, it really adds up.... some of the harnesses seem pretty steep... $2000 - $3000 just for a harness??? ugh.
anyways i was curious if some of you might talk a little bit about your first set-up. did you get new or used? what harness, glider, chute did you get and how much did you spend. are you happy with what you got and if you did it again what would you get??? thank you.
A new Tracer harness will run you around $1000, half that for a cocoon.
You can probably do it for 4- 5 large for all you need, double that if you buy new. _________________ Mountains always have the right of way.
If you've never forgotten anything in your life, you don't need to do a hook-in check.
You're going to die anyway so you might as well fly.
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