Hang gliding is a popular outdoor sports activity with many participants all across the globe. This sport takes place mostly in mountainous areas. Going hang gliding requires a good amount of preparation, and like any adventure sport, hang gliding has its share of risks. So, it’s best to equip yourself with hang gliding travel insurance before you even consider strapping yourself in.
Travel Insurance for Hang Gliding
Hang gliding mishaps can cause serious injuries. Get travel insurance for hang gliding before you indulge in the sport, especially in a foreign land. Abroad, medical expenses for the treatment of injuries caused by an extreme sport can be massive. Extreme sports travel insurance covers you against the misery of having to pay for these expenses out of your own pocket.
A standard travel insurance plan won’t cover the risks inherent to most hazardous or extreme sports activities. So, make sure to purchase an additional hang gliding travel insurance policy to keep you covered and give you one less thing to worry about when you’re in the sky.
The Basics of Hang Gliding
Hang gliding participants fly a non-motorized, lightweight, unpowered aircraft known as a hang glider. Hang gliders are foot-launched devices made of aircraft aluminum that weigh anywhere between 40–90 pounds (18–40 kg).
Usually, you’ll take off after running down a slope to build momentum. The air movement over the wing surface will generate lift, which acts as a counter to gravity and keeps you aloft.
Once you are airborne, the earth’s gravity will gently pull you down. For every foot that you fall, you will fly about 16 feet forward. You’ll also get lift from hot air columns or from air deflected by the mountainous topography (known as “ridge lifts”). As long as you stay in such conditions, you can stay aloft or even gain altitude. But the moment you fly out of it, you will resume a gentle descent.
Air sports like hang gliding, paragliding, etc., are the closest you can come to feeling like a bird. The thrill of being up there among the clouds can’t be described in words. You are circling thousands of feet above the earth, under the canopy of the blue skies, with no one but the birds for company. You can gaze out at the mountains, waterfalls, and villages far below you. Before going hang gliding, you have likely only flown in a piloted aircraft. But, in a hang glider, you are the pilot.
Any hazardous sport requires meticulous planning before execution. As part of your planning, you should make sure to purchase hazardous sports travel insurance before you participate. Such insurance will help to offset any financial consequences from injuries or accidents that may occur.
Risks of Hang Gliding
Every adventure sport comes with some level of risk. A comprehensive adventure sports travel insurance plan should help minimize the consequences of such dangers.
Hang gliding is a thrilling and invigorating sport. But it is not without its risks. Undoubtedly, it is safer than what it used to be. Almost all fliers and sport organizers take safety very seriously and adopt all appropriate measures and regulations. But there is never a guarantee against mishaps occurring. Accidents might happen as a result of faulty equipment, unpredictable changes in weather, or judgment errors on the part of the flier.
Keeping such possibilities in mind, consider purchasing hang gliding travel insurance before you participate.