Hang Gliders

Alexis Walden

May 15, 2014

Executive Summary

1. Hang gliders rely on their body intelligence and ability to let their mind go in order to fly.

2. Hang gliding is a relationship between a person and a glider.

3. Hang gliders embrace danger and/or fear to experience a single moment of flying.

Project OverviewObjective:

To discover and communicate how beginning hang gliders identify and describe themselves and their behavior.

Fieldsite/subculture:

Fieldwork was conducted with students from Big Air Hang Gliding at Ed Levin County Park in Milpitas, CA.

Methods:

For this ethnographic study, I gathered qualitative data, with emic and etic taxonomies, through participant observation and in-depth interviews.

Quantitative data about Hang Gliding:

Informant

Igor Krimer:Igor is a Software Engineer in San Mateo. With his schedule constantly changing, he tries to make time to travel as often as possible.

In addition, he is willing and interested in trying new things. He believes it is important to experience adrenaline rushes—something more people should try to do. “It’s a great sense of living. I remember those moments so vividly.”

Learning new things is highly important to him. When he can, he likes to involve his friends. Igor plans on taking the remaining hang gliding courses to become licensed, mostly for the experience.

Insight #1: Hang gliders rely on their body intelligence

and ability to let their mind go in order to fly.

“You wouldn’t be successful if you were trying to calculate every angle or turn in your head. In the air, your brain gets in the way.”

There is an information overload that causes many students to do the opposite of what they are taught, which keeps them from advancing. This is the transitioning from brain to body intelligence.

“Don’t think too much. That is how you learn to fly.”

Insight #2: Hang gliding is a relationship between a

person and a glider.

“Would you guys trust your life with this thing? I would. It knows how to fly better than you do.”

After the students landed (or crashed) they reflected on how the glider responded to them and if they shared enough control with it.

“Now it’s just about getting a feeling for the glider and trusting it before you’re ready to take the big jumps.”

Insight #3: Hang gliders embrace danger and/or fear

to experience a single moment of flying.

“It’s actually the fear of heights that got me interested in different kinds of flying. And, it’s like the feeling when you first start flying it’s terrifying and then once you’re off the ground it’s like a totally relaxed feeling.”

The most common error among students is being afraid to let go of the glider when they are in the air. Each flight is a progression in confronting these fears.

“If a big gust picks-up it’s kind of scary ‘cause you just all of a sudden end up going a direction you didn’t want to be going, but other than that it is pretty relaxing, I think. We’ve only been in the air for like 15 seconds so far.”

Three brands that should be interested in my insights:

A hang gliders ability to confront their fears

and test their limits would pair well with

Hennessy’s “Never Stop. Never Settle.” I

see this offering creative potential for their

current “What’s Your Wild Rabbit?”

campaign.

The need for hang gliders to let go while

they are in the air, losing the control they

have on the ground, reflects Red Bull’s

“Gives You Wings.” They have an interest

with extreme sports and hang gliding often

gets overlooked.

With hang gliding’s reliance on human

intelligence, Athos would be able to provide

data through wearable technology to track

and enhance the body’s motion. Since Athos

is a start-up, this would help them broaden

their growing market.

Link to the Insight Video:

http://youtu.be/OKF45jiEdW0