Hello my name is Nick Burden and I am 16 years old. I know you are already starting to panic right? Well please don't!!! As you might have guessed by my username I need to fly!!!! I have always wanted to since I can remember. I originally wanted to hang glide as free flight was the closest you can get to true flight in my opinion. I then discovored paragliders and still would rather do that, but sewing a paraglider seems a bit out of the question. So I started to look at making a hang glider, and yes I went the PVC duct tape and tarp route as I was 13 years old. I made a square 50foot^2 rectangle and I was "going to fly like a bird with a back mounted wing" OMG!!! what was I thinking!!!? K so duh that didnt work just flopped and knocked the wind out of myself. Attempt #2 was much more logical with still PVC duct tape and a tarp but at least I went triangle!!!!! It had all the components of a HG but crappy, I had lines tie in point everything!!! So I went to a steep hill ran felt some tug jumped lifted off my weight was too far back I stalled and the whole thing exploded (curse PVC!!!!) so here I am 2 years after that realizing that the job I got a the supermarket for $6.91 an hour wasn't going to get my closer to PG any time in the near future. I currently power kite and have spent almost $1500 on crap for that (If only I had known!!!!! I could have my P2 right now!!!!) So I'm not trying to toot my own horn but I can build stuff:
Chopper (motor bike not heli)
Kite buggy
ATB
Sailboat
NPW9b
and countless others
So I am familiar with steel and have a welder to accomplish any welds neccesary, although the frame I am looking at (oh yeah btw I want to built a HG) will be mostly aluminum. I am familiar with working with ripstop nylon (NPW9b, its a kite incase you didn't know) and I can generally figure things out on my own. With some help along the way some determination and a bit of luck I know I can pull it off. If you have made it this far you are probably going to tell me off like I usually get. So here is a little something to calm your nerves:
I AM NOT going to go to HG lauches leap off and hope for the best, I am going to screw around at the local hill, and even if I became adventurous I would limit myself to sled runs NO THERMALS!!!! AHHH!!!!! I may be crazy but not suicidal.
I am looking at making a rogallo wing as it is cheap simple easy slow and stable and I am GOING TO DO THIS whether or not I get feedback so I will probably be alot better off if some people help me out.
This is the basics of what I am looking at making:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.adveto.se/images/1975%2520Rogallo_flygning_web.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.crepinc.com/glider/&h=336&w=399&sz=15&hl=en&start=17&um=1&tbnid=mb6yWWr97eit8M:&tbnh=104&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhomemade%2Bhang%2Bglider%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DG
ANY help is appreciated!
Thanks,
Nick Burden