Use a giant kite on a long line in fairly good winds to assist a rapid ascent saving a climb or drive up a steep hill.

The kite would have a light weight hand and foot hold in the back, simple handholds and possibly a toe catch, or ski boot type attachment for easy release enabling a hang glider equipped passenger to hold on and catapult skyward when released.

Benefits- free launch, option to release early for inexperienced fliers, cool zoom straight up at high speed factor.
-- nth, Nov 15 2005

Couldn't the hang glider itself serve as the kite?
-- DrCurry, Nov 15 2005


Quite possibly so. My thoughts on this are that they are sized to a certain extent for the fliers weight and would not have enough wind catching area for a very rapid ascent.

But, I'll be blunt... I really don't know. :)
-- nth, Nov 15 2005


Don't they use a winch to launch sailplanes? Wouldn't that accomplish much of what you're after?
-- NoOneYouKnow, Nov 16 2005


BAKED

Hangliders in the MidWest often use a winch to launch hang gliders.

Trucks have been used, as have aircraft in unusual situations.
-- subflower, Nov 17 2005


[subflower], it's not unusual to use an aircraft to tow up a hang glider. People do that all over the place.

A great spot in Florida stays busy using an ultralight for the job.

A winch is a very different thing than how this would turn out because you wouldn't have to be running to lift off with the kite. I give it a bun. [+]
-- zigness, Nov 18 2005


As a former hang glider pilot, I can attest that this has been done -- and seems to me a slight bit riskier than the preferred way of 'foot launching' off of a big hill.
-- pathetic, Nov 18 2005


I'm just remembering the nose dives my kites always seemed to do at the beach just after launch...
-- BunsenHoneydew, Dec 03 2006


Dreaded "lock-out" kills. However, there will be a day when kited hang glider pilots stay an hour on kited format in order to drag a grounded railed electric generator back and forth ...left and right of the wind window ...in order to have fun and practice piloting while making electricity for the neighbors.
-- joefaust, Jan 29 2009



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