Hang Gliding across the UK

I want to fly a Hang glider across the UK

2010-01-25T08:00:00.010Z

I want to fly high in the sky

This is my hang glider adventure.

My name is Shola Ogunlokun, I am in my forties, married with 4 children, and I'm about to embark on a hang glider adventure in the UK, which is going to be the challenge of my lifetime.

I was born in London, but left England when I was about 7 and in primary school, spending the next 20 years growing up and studying in Nigeria. I returned to London in 1991 and since then I have been confined to the rigours of metropolitan living.

In January 2005, I decided that I would like to fly across the UK in a hang glider, meeting the local people along the way. The only quirk being I've never flown a hang glider before!

So here is my challenge people.

Learn to fly a hang glider and then fly from Land's End to John O'Groats! Check my hang gliding photos blog.

The challenge is on!

Why?
1. This will be the achivement of a life long dream.
2. I want to encourage people from my ethnic background (Afro-Carribean) to take a risk and pursue their dreams.
3. I want to tour the UK, and meet the real people along the way.

Am I mad?

No. I have done some research into hang gliding, and I believe that this challenge is possible. I am not trying to break any records, will not do anything stupid and will only attempt to make the journey once the required training with a qualified flying instructor has been completed. I hope to have a video production team with me, to document the flight.
This website will chart my progress through various milestones of the challenge, and a detailed hang gliding blog. If you have any questions or comments, please make contact by leaving a comment on my hang glider. I will be flying high in the Sky.

Motorised Paraglider Tip to Tip 2008

2008-08-07T09:31:00.006+01:00

6 Paraglider pilots are trying to fly across Britain from Land's End to John O'Groats to raise money for two charities: The children Forces trust and The Air Ambulance services.

Tip to Tip 2008 begain on July 29th 2008 when the 6 pilots Simon Westmore, Peter Baldwin, Richard Whitmarsh, Mike Silvester, Simon Payneand and Francis Rich took off from Land's End and the motorised paraglider (paramotor) pilots where hoping to have completed the flying trip in 8 days however the UK weather has not been in their favour, and yesterday was the eighth day, so now they are extending their paramotor flying days in order to complete the adventure and raise money for their chosen charities.

The 6 man motorised paraglider team are currently in Derby, here is to wishing them success in their flying adventure across the UK, as I could use information from their experience when I start planning my motorised hang glider flight to cover the same distance.

Hang Glider Challenge details

2005-01-22T16:50:00.004Z

My intention is to fly a hang glider from Land's End to John O'Groats, and in order to have any chance of completing this flight successfully, I will be flying a doodlebug powered hang glider.

The average speed of a hang glider is 25mph in still air, so depending on the direction of the flight and wind, the ground speed of the aircraft can be between 5mph and 45mph (I will not be flying in winds stronger than 20mph). This means to cover the 900 miles of the flight, I will require about 36 hours, and based on 8 hours of flying (4 in the morning, 4 in the evening with breaks for re-fuelling/rest) would take 5 days of good flyable weather, so I'm planning 8 days minimum to complete.

One of the aims of this hang glider challenge is to meet the many different people of Great Britain, so I would like to tour the towns during the afternoon when the flying conditions will not be very favourable and spend the night with anyone willing to accommodate me overnight, otherwise I will be sleeping in a tent outside.

As soon as a route has been finalised, I would be looking for hosts to show me around town in the afternoon and others to host me overnight. I don't plan on spending the afternoon and night in the same town (unless grounded by the weather), so it will be a different host for the afternoon and night.

If you still have any questions, you can leave a comment on my hang glider b log.

You can also get the latest updates on my challenge by subscribing to my hang glider blog.

Hang Glider Challenge Equipment

2005-01-17T20:00:00.004Z

Listed below is the equipment that I need to complete the hang glider challenge. If you or your company would like to sponsor me by lending or donating any item, I will be very grateful, and will give you or your company a mention on the sponsors page as well as provide a link to your website.

Major sponsors will get their logo on my hang glider or flight suit.

Aeros Target Hang Gilder
Doodlebug Powered Harness
Parachute
Flight Suit
Flying Boots
Helmet
Goggles
Gloves
Vario/Alitimeter
Wind Speed Meter
Windsock
GPS
Log Book
Camera
Radio

Misc.
CP Hang Gliding Training
Parachute packing/deployment training.
Foot Launched Power Aircraft (FLPA) training.

Hang Glider Sponsorship

2005-01-14T16:46:00.000Z

To enable me complete this hang glider adventure, I am looking to raise £10,000 to enable me buy the equipment and arrange logistics for this challenge and am seeking companies who would be willing to invest from as little as £100 in sponsoring this challenge, in return they will get their logo on my hang glider, flight suit or challenge websites.

Full details are in my sponsorship proposal, so if you or your company is interested in this project, please do contact me.

Hang Glider Milestones

2005-01-12T16:42:00.001Z

Milestones of my hang glider challenge.

Jan. 2005 The challenge is conceived.

Feb. 2005 Started hang glider training with Tony Webb of Lejair Ltd.

Mar. 2005 Elementary Pilot rating achieved, celebrated with two 15minute hang gliding flights from the top of 2000ft high Lejar mountain in Spain!

Video of Shola training to fly a hang glider

Dec. 2005 Achieved my Club Pilot hang glider rating, that allows me to fly a hang glider within a club enviroment.

Dec. 2005 Began training on powered hang glider, achieving a 3 second flight on second day in a Aeros Target hang glider powered by a doodlebug powered harness.

Sept. 2006 Had my first independent hang glider flight at Suffolk Coastal Floaters hang gliding club on my recently acquired Airwave Calypso hang glider.

Hang Glider FAQ

2005-01-11T16:40:00.000Z

Frequently asked questions for my hang glider challenge

Is this Safe?
Hang gliding as with other forms of aviation does have its dangers, but the hang glider itself is very safe, and combined with proper training, the sport can be very safe. Shola has spent over £2500 of his personal money getting the required CAA certified training not only to make sure he remains safe, but also to improve his chances of completing the challenge successfully.

Are you Insured?
As a flying member (22858) of the British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (www.bhpa.co.uk), Shola is covered by a policy that gives £2m 3rd party liability cover against damage to individuals or property while flying a hang glider in the UK.

Who else is involved?
While Shola is currently planning to be flying alone, he will be having a ground based support team comprising of experienced hang glider pilots who will be supporting and advising him during the challenge.

What is the route?
The proposed route is not currently finalised, but Shola will be flying in un-controlled airspace normally used by General Aviation (GA) enthusiasts.

Is this challenge feasible?
While this has never been done before in a hang glider, it has been done in a paraglider (http://www.flight.firstnet.co.uk/). A hang glider has better performance so it is equally feasible, though the sport is very dependent on weather, and with safety in mind, there is always a chance that the whole route might not be covered.

Tony Webb Instructor Hang gliding Spain

2005-01-10T23:54:00.002Z

Tony Webb is the hang gliding instructor that helped me gain my CP rating, and runs the lejair hang glider training school in Algodonales, Spain.

Tony and Rona Webb are very friendly instructors, love the hang gliding sport, speak fluent spanish, and offer guided holiday flying in the Andalucia area of Spain, popular with both hang and para glider pilots. They can usually be found in Norfolk around August, when the weather is too hot for them.

If you are looking to learn how to fly a hang glider in a very short time, then I can say that you should go to spain where the weather is more predictable and suitable for hang and para glider flying. Tony and Rona Webb instructors will welcome you....

Contact Me

2005-01-09T08:00:00.002Z

If you have any questions about my hang glider challenge, a comment or would like to sponsor me, please leave a comment on my hang glider blog, you can also email me sholao@meet-britain.org.uk

Hang Glider Training Costs

2004-01-03T16:36:00.000Z

The cost of hang glider training can be very expensive, here is what I have spent so far on learning to hang glide.

BHPA Membership £92
BHPA Hang Glider Pilot's Handbook £14.99
Hang Glider Training Manual £25
EP/CP Tow Hang Gliding course (Spain) £1000
Accomaodation (Spain) £168
Hang Gliding Insurance (Spanish HG Association for 3rd party liability) £50
Return Air Ticket £80
Travel Insurance (includes repartriation and HG activity) £35
Car Rental (sharing a car with another student) £80
Stansted Express return ticket £25

You do the sums! I still have to buy a hang glider and other associated equipment, gain enough experience, before I can even think of the next course! Help please Sir Richard Branson?

Edit 18th March 2005: The final bill for my trip to Spain included the following extras

Extra hang glider training £50
Expenses £170

Edit 17 Dec 2005: Here are the addtional expenses incured to get my Club Pilot (CP)hang glider rating

2nd trip to Spain
Hang Gliding Training £960
Accomodation £84
Hang Gliding Insurance (Spanish) £50
Air Ticket £45
Travel Insurance Hang Gliding cover included £35
Car Rental £110
Train Tickets £25

My Airwave Calypso Hang Glider

2004-01-02T08:55:00.002Z

I have acquired an Airwave Calypso hang glider from a member of the Suffolk Coastal Floaters hang gliding club. It is a used glider, but is in very good condition, and I am looking forward to flying it in the Autuum.

Having rigged the hang glider and doing a visual inspection, it is looking good, and Phil one of our club members also checked it out for me, and gave it a thumbs up.

I have 2 days booked with my hang gliding instructor Tony Webb of Lejair in Norfolk August where I will be converting to a chest release which will allow me to fly with the Suffolk coastal floaters hang gliding club. Not having my own hang glider has meant that I haven't flown since I qualified as a club pilot in december 2005, so I will be using the 2 days to polish up my skills and get used to the chest release and harness which I should get before my scheduled training in August.

For more details of how I'm getting on with my hang gliding challenge, subscribe to my hang gliding blog by entering your email address in the box provided to recieve an email when my next update is posted.

Doodlebug hang glider harness

2004-01-01T17:08:00.004Z

I get introduced to the doodlebug hang glider harness on the last day of my training with Tony Webb of Lejair.com hang gider training school in Spain.

It was my last day of training in Spain, but since my flight was late in the evening, there was time for me to meet with Tony in the morning to complete my hang glider training paperwork, do some more powered flying ground school (mainly revising what we went over yesterday, emphasizing safety) and then drive to Villa Martin where I had the opportunity of rigging both the Aeros Target and Doodlebug harness with some help from Tony of course, we then went on to do 5 powered runs, learning the proper procedures for take offs and the abort procedures where you spit the mouth throttle out of your mouth. On the 5th powered run, things where going well, and Tony did not give the abort signal for a while, so I gradually increased the power, before I knew it, I felt my feet leave the ground, Tony signalled abort, I spit out the throttle, and flared the aircraft as my feet landed back on the ground, I had just flown the Doodlebug harness for a whole 3 seconds! Tony said we should end the day on that good note, and I totally agreed. Not only had I come to Spain to complete my hang glider training and obtain a club pilot rating, I had begun the third and final step of my training for my challenge. Though I will probably have to go through most of what I done with another instructor when I get back to Britain, I had more than surpassed my dreams for this trip. A big thanks goes to my Instructors Rona and Tony Webb of Lejair Ltd for all their hard work during my two trips to Spain.

I am hoping to buy one of these motorised hang gliders for my adventure flight across the UK.

More Reading
My Hang Gliding Blog

Hang Glider Training Video

2004-01-01T13:31:00.003Z

Here is the hang glider training video clip of me learning to fly a in Spain.

My hang glider instructor was Tony Webb of Lejair.com based in Algodonales, Spain.

High quality versions of these hang glider videos are available to download below:

Quicktime users can click here.

Windows Media Users click here.