A hang glider is essentially a big kite, yet it is much safer than you can imagine. You must remember though that the activity requires your cooperation and help not only while gliding but also when it comes to safety procedures and protocol. Here are 5 ways to do that.

1. It is an outdoor sport and nature can be most unpredictable. Take the initiative to do your weather check. You can utilize the web and search for weather forecasts on weather sites that provide information for aviation. You can also make use of the radio, TV, and other forms of media. Finally, try consulting your hang gliding provider about suitable conditions that will allow you to fly.
2. Do not attempt any outrageous or death-defying hang gliding stunts unless you have been trained and certified to do so. This also includes flying over-controlled air space, or tandem hangs gliding. The sport on its own is a total thrill, there’s more than what you would probably be able to handle so there is no need to come up with a wilder way of doing it. You will never run out of skies. Particularly ones that will let you soar. Check your local hang gliding centers or aviation offices for amazing spots where you can enjoy the activity.
3. Among all other safety essentials in this adventurous sport, a clear mind that leads to good judgment and attitude is the most important. Taking in alcohol or being under the influence of drugs (prescribed and prohibited alike) can negatively affect your hang gliding. The sport utilizes a part of your physical strength and uses the majority of your mental capacity. Steering the wing may be physical but you need to discern when, and how big of an angle are you required to bank so you can get a thermal wind or decrease altitude.
4. Know your gear and how to use it. You may be listening when you were in hang gliding class, about the different components of your wing, the navigation, and wind gauge equipment, but there are instances where you could freeze and go blank when you are up in the air soaring at high altitudes. Practice operating your gear while on solid ground and familiarize yourself with it. Before you know it, using the gear will be second nature.
5. Gather knowledge on the activity before you do it. Decide to do something that you want to do and not something you feel others want you to do. Research, ask for expert opinion and observe, then you decide if you want to experience a hang gliding adventure.

Hang gliding is a sport that has a long and rich history of engineering and safety innovation. Over the years the quest of making the sport safe has been successful with the significant decrease of fatalities and accidents involving it. Enthusiasts have done their share of safely enjoying the activity thus giving others a more positive perspective of hang gliding.