The Future of Wills Wing
To All of Our Dealers, Customers and Friends, We wish to share with you some important news. During the next two and a half months, we will be finishing up orders currently on the books, winding down operations and preparing … Continued
Rick Zimbelman
Rick Zimbelman, long time Wills Wing employee, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on May 5th, 2021. Rick had worked for Wills Wing for more than 36 years, first in the shipping department, and then as purchasing agent and manager of … Continued
Glider Flight Testing and Tuning
You can find a .pdf of this article at /assets/uploads/pdf/Hang_Glider_Tuning_and_Test_Flying.pdf In order to be able to effectively tune your glider and evaluate tuning changes, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of flight test methodology and to conduct a … Continued
Big Spring Nationals 2018
The 2018 Big Spring Nationals wrapped up last week and although there were only three tasks it was a fun, safe and fair competition. Attila Bertok took first place with Davis Straub and Rudy Gotes in second and third respectively … Continued
Remembering Rob Kells
August 9, 2018 Rob Kells, our friend and partner for more than 30 years, passed away ten years ago today. It is hard to believe that it has been that long since he left us, but time passes at an … Continued
2018 Green Swamp Sport Klassic
Congratulations to all the participants of this years Green Swamp Sport Klassic! The GSSK is a mentored competition specifically intended for newer pilots or experienced pilots that are looking to get into flying hang gliding competitions. This year over 50 … Continued
Easy Flyers Begin Shipping to Select Schools!
Mission Soaring Center in Milpitas California and Morningside Flight Park in Charlestown New Hampshire are the first to receive Pre-Production, V0.3 Easy Flyers. If you are interested in the Easy Flyer either for personal use or for incorporating into your … Continued
The Wills Wing Easy Flyer
Under development at Wills Wing (USA) since January of this year, the EASY FLYER is a light-weight tricycle gear frame mated to a hang glider, with the pilot suspended from the glider in a seated / supine harness. Unlike a … Continued
Batten Labels
We are now labeling battens with a color-number-band to help pilots sort and identify their battens. Green battens correspond to the right wing and red to the left. The number 2 batten is always the shortest curved batten and the … Continued
Lever Batten Tips Service Advisory from Airborne
The lever batten tips used in Wills Wing gliders are manufactured by Airborne Australia. Airborne has posted a service advisory regarding the lever tips: http://www.airborne.com.au/images/aw_directives/SB-019.pdf The advisory addresses adjustment, maintenance and inspection issues with regard to the lever tips. There … Continued
Flying Without Washout Tips – and other alternate configurations
From time to time we become aware that some pilots are flying our gliders in non-standard configurations, such was with the washout tips removed, or the bridles disconnected. Sometimes, it is instructors that have their students do this, because they … Continued
2015 Competition Summary
Dustin Martin dominates the Canoa Open 2015. Rudy Gotez and Daniel Valez take 2nd and 3rd after Tom Weissenberger cuts the last turnpoint. Zac Majors, US National Champion, Race to Goal and Open Distance 2015 USHPA NTSS ranking – 8 of … Continued
Glider Bag, Light Glider Bag and XTRA Light Glider Bag
We now have 3 types of glider bags. The standard bag (far right) that comes on a glider is made from 420D coated Nylon with 600D polyester reinforcements at the nose, tail and center, and no. 8 YKK zipper. This bag … Continued
Mike Meier receives Jack Northrop award by SETP
At the recently held 45th Annual West Coast Symposium of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, the Jack Northrop Award for the Most Outstanding Technical Paper presented at the symposium was awarded to Mike Meier, for his paper, “Lessons Learned … Continued
2014 News Summary
12/09/14 Fleece Beanies and Pocket Scarves – Just in time for the Holidays! Stay warm in the cold weather with a Wills Wing polar fleece scarf or a polyester fleece beanie! Both feature embroidered “WW” and “Wills Wing” logos and … Continued
2013 News Summary
12/23/13 Happy Holidays from Wills Wing All of us at Wills Wing wish you and your families a Safe, Healthy, and Happy Holiday Season! The Wills Wing Crew, 2013: Standing, l-r: Bill Blaty, Anthony Faletoi, Matt Barker, Rick Zimbelman, Linda Meier, … Continued
East Coast Demo Days, 6/22-7/6/13
East Coast Demo Days, 6/22-7/6/13 Wills Wing designer Steven Pearson will be conducting hang glider demo days on the East Coast at the end of June and early July. Take a trip to Morningside, Ellenville, Kitty Hawk, or Lookout Mountain … Continued
Vintage T-Shirt Night
Friday, April 5th, will be Vintage T-Shirt Night at Wallaby Ranch!
2012 News Summary
12/13/12 Happy Holidays from Wills Wing! 11/27/12 Christmas Closing Dates We will close down for our traditional two week Christmas break on Wednesday December 19th, 2012, and re-open on Wednesday January 2nd, 2013. Our Wallaby 2013 Demo Days and Fly-In … Continued
Price Increases
Effective August 1st, prices on all glider models will increase by $100. The new price will apply to all orders not received at Wills Wing before August 1st. The price of the Covert harness has been increased, effective July 13th, … Continued
Falcon 4 Release
We are announcing the release of the Falcon 4 at this time in the 145, 170, and 195 sizes. The Falcon Tandem will remain a Falcon 3 Tandem at this time. We will have more information on the Falcon 4 … Continued
Valley of the Brave
Ahhh, Valle De Bravo. What can I say about that place. It’s a free flight paradise, basically. I was lucky enough to be invited to compete in this amazing venue by “the man”, local, HG instructor and tandem pilot, Rudy … Continued
Dustin Back in the Shop
Dustin is again at the Shapiro Skunk Works and, is helping me get a list of new Coverts done (and out the door) before I fly out to Valle De Bravo for the Mexican Nationals. Always great having him in … Continued
Zapata 2009 Archives
Digging through receipts while doing taxes, I re-discovered a notepad I had forgotten. Good times. I like LIFT! I like the abrupt ending – Hwy 20, 816pm, 5 miles E (of Big Spring)… then silence. I was almost at base, … Continued
Cool Stuff for Sale
Cleaning out the closet and trying to fund the upcoming comps. Here’s what I’ve got: One brand new over/under tandem harness. All black, 600 denier outer, antron inner, 1/4″ volara padding. Continuous webbing construction, Austri Alpin quick disconnect buckles on … Continued
The Last 3 Weeks
Winter break is traditionally a time for me to dig in work hard to fund the upcoming season. This holiday I was adopted by the Pearsons and spent every waking moment at the Wills factory while all their employees were … Continued
2011 News Summary
11/21/11 Wills Wing Glider Tool Kit Available Wills Wing now offers a tool kit containing the tools required to perform many service operations on Wills Wing gliders. The kit comes in a handy roll up pouch, with a pocket for … Continued
Adventure in China
China was a unique and enriching experience. It has definitely lit a fire within me to continue exploring new cultures, meeting interesting people along the way, and to try to allow my technical and mental limits to evolve while climbing … Continued
Mold surgery
Things were going so well.. After buffing the mold halves to a fine shine, I layed up the first part. Anxiety was relieved when it practically jumped out of the mold the next morning. The first thing I did was … Continued
Opening the Mold
After repeating the process for the back half of the mold, this morning I went out to the shop and separated the mold halves to see if I was successful. The anxiety with molds, especially multi-part molds, is the investment … Continued
Mold Making Part II
The front mold half is finished and being prepared for the layup of the second this weekend. Stabilizing boards were added to prevent warping and curving. Attached with bondo first to insulate them from the glass itself and prevent resin … Continued
New Instrument Pod
The mold for the new 6030/garmin 76 pod is cruising along. The new pod features a pressure fit for the 76 just like my Geko pod (except the 76 has a slot for securing a safety cord). The 6030 slot … Continued
China/Tibet preparations – Covert improvements
It was a huge disappointment to miss the Santa Cruz Flats comp this year. Kind of a dichotomy of feelings when the weather proved to provide the best year yet over the desert and agro lands of AZ. I was … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day 7 – Hard to come down…
SCF 5.0 Day 7 Present: It’s hard to come back down… I’m at work, attending to voice and e-mails, looking out on a crispy Colorado mountain morning. Aspens changing, 47 degrees. My present reality completely contrasts the experiences I had … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day 6
SCF 5.0 Day 6 Business as usual – run, pool, breakfast. They call a 78 mile box like task that will take us quite a way out into the mostly roadless desert, but we’ll be in proximity of the mountains. … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day 5
SCF 5.0 Day 5 Contented after a great day of being social and racing your mates. I woke tired, took the run, swim and breakfast. Things are getting wonderfully routine. Set up my glider, they called a 73 mile triangle, … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day 4
SCF 5.0 Day 4 I already read Davis’s account HERE (http://ozreport.com/1316651248) but my perception of the day was a bit different. Sure, we could have and probably should have gone to the north and west and things would have been better task … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day 3
SCF 5.0 Day 3 I get up early, run then plunge and I’m having breakfast with coffee on the balcony by 8am. Do an hour of work then head up on the rooftop where Alex is flying his remote control … Continued
Santa Cruz Flats 5.0 Day Two
The sign that was plastered last year is gone… Utah DOT has put up a new “canvas” to decorate. See below: SCF 5.0 Day 2 Woke @ 7am and went straight for a run. Hard to motivate, then the miles … Continued
Santa Cruz 5.0 – The Grid to the Organic…
SCF 5.0 Day 1 A 70 mile triangle is called. Winds are supposed to be light, and we’re supposed to get to 9000ft. maybe higher near the mountains. (ground is 1300ft. here) The view on our balcony. Launch opens at … Continued
2011 wrap-up + 5th edition of the Santa Cruz Flats!
After a season of intense windshield time and some.. questionable comp conditions abroad… I finally stumbled onto one of the few decent events of the year – Brasilia. The comp was scheduled from August 21st-27th and, although the second day … Continued
Saturday Surfing…
Davide Guiducci over the Dolomites last week. Remember that photo of GW meadows over the Pali coast 20 years ago? The modern version… Exceptional shot. Waves in Fluid Air is an exploitable fluid just like water: Steve Fossett without a … Continued
Tic Tacs burn your skin when they’re tucked underneath your wristband on a sweaty three hour flight…
Day 7 We head an hour away to Mt. Subazio above Assisi. Completely open meadow atop the mountain. They call an 87km basket weaving task across the valley with four turnpoints. Our launch line is a sh*t show with total … Continued
Worlds Etc
Day one of the worlds – cancelled due to wind. Basically the first half of this year has been spent chasing down cash to fund the finale: the worlds. Arriving, unwinding, and flying the big air of Fiesch was a … Continued
Covert Parachute installation process
Chute installation; The purpose of this description is to detail the methods needed to properly install a parachute into your new Wills Wing Covert harness. Use the following description as a guide but if there are any questions regarding difficulty … Continued
Fiesch- day two
This place has been pretty epic so far. Don’t really know how else to describe it. Fiesch is a ski and mountain town situated in the Swiss Alps, surrounded by flowing glaciers. The Rhone is to the N.West, the Aletsch … Continued
Coverts to come
I picked up a couple of man slaves at the local peoples market. They didn’t cost much and require some work, but overall, it was a good deal. Team pilot, Dustin Martin, is on his way back to … Continued
Rob Kells Memorial
It was that time of the year again to leave the remains of Montana winter and to head toward Florida for two of the most competitive US Hang Gliding comps of the season. The thought of walking bare foot in … Continued
“Dreaming Awake” at Big Sur
Last week, I had the opportunity to drive out of the deep snow in Montana and road trip my way down to Big Sur, on the California coast. The coast line is super dramatic and you can’t help but … Continued
2010 News Summary
11/24/10 Thanksgiving and Christmas Closing – Wallaby 2011 Dates We will be closed on Thursday November 25th and Friday November 26th for Thanksgiving. We will also close down for our traditional two week Christmas break on Friday December 17th, and … Continued
2011 Fabric Options
New sailcloth options and recommended configurations There are several distinct attributes associated with every fabric style and I think it’s important to consider them independently in order to make the choice that best suits your needs. Appearance and fashion Structural … Continued
Video testing a dangle mount
It’s always fun to try to capture our sport on film. We know it’s beautiful and cool, but how do we share it best? Get lots of angles, so guys like Aaron Swepston made mounts like this one. Of course, … Continued
Sylmar Spring Air Festival
This weekend Sylmar Hang Gliding Association had its annual Spring Air Festival. Expecting Friday traffic around LA, I was pleasantly surprised to make it to the Flight Park in under an hour and half from Santa Barbara. On Friday a few cars … Continued
Fun flying XC with a California Condor
This morning even the National Weather Service was in the spirit talking about the April Fool’s storm (the forecast was way off). North winds still looked a bit questionable, but I figured if I dragged a bunch of people up … Continued
2009 News Summary
12/17/09 Dustin Martin Sets New Puerto Rico Record with T2C Dustin Martin just flew 84 miles from the Cubuy launch in Puerto Rico for the longest flight ever in PR. The previous record, reportedly around 50 miles, has stood for … Continued
No Excuses!
So I battled Friday traffic through the middle of LA; it was grueling. I thought I’d timed it right, but I’m not sure that’s actually possible in LA. I made it down to Wills Wing in time to score a … Continued
Tandem for birds
In the spring, I had donated a couple gift certificates for tandem flights to the Ojai Raptor Center (http://www.ojairaptorcenter.org/). The center rehabilitates and releases sick and injured birds of... Continued
Catching up…
So this last flying season has been amazing. In Florida I had a great time with my friends and was excited to have finished 2nd in the Flytec Race and Rally against such a talented group of pilots. Th... Continued
Swiss Nationals, Day 1
Flew over to Zurich from LA with Jeff Shapiro on the 4th of July. Swiss Nic and Steve Blinkensop picked us up at the airport and we headed to Nic’s home in Baden (originally a Roman town). Upon unpack... Continued
What’s new on the T2C?
The most frequent question from customers asks what changes are planned for our products. Aside from issues of marketing and product development secrecy, it’s difficult to predict with any certainty w... Continued
2008 News Summary
11/29/08 Helmet Special for the Holidays! Continued
2007 News Summary
12/04/07 Wills Wing Spring 2008 Fly-In at Wallaby Ranch, March 25-30th Come to the 11th Annual Wills Wing Fly-In and Party atWallaby Ranch, Florida USA. Help us celebrate 35 years in the Hang Gliding ... Continued
2006 News Summary
12/11/06 T2s First and Second in Brazilian Campeonato Paulista 2006 Pilots flying our T2 hang gliders finished 1st and 2nd in the recently completed Campeonato Paulista, the Brazilian state of São Pau... Continued
2005 News Summary
12/29/05 Wills Wing T2’s Sweep Top Two Places At Japanese Competition Series Final Event Kozo Abe, flying a T2 144, and Toshiyuki Katsura, flying a T2 154, took first and second place respectively in ... Continued
2004 Summary News
12/10/04 Reminder – The 2004 Fall Hang Gliding Special Expires on December 15th! See the Fall HG Special news item for details. Continued
2003 Summary News
12/07/03 Talons Finish 1 and 2 in Brazil’s Sao Paolo State Championships Talon pilots chalked up another great finish in Brazil! Continued
Wills Wing Annual Demo Days and Anniversary Party
Wallaby Ranch, Florida – March 23rd through 28th, 2004 Mark your calendars! We’d like to try for the biggest fly-in in the history of hang gliding. We will be developing some fun new events for next y... Continued
2002 News Summary
12/21/02 Talon Wins South African Nationals Peter Van Den Berg writes: The South African National Hang Gliding Championships ended yesterday, Saturday 21st December, and the winner was Johan Anderson ... Continued
2001 News Summary
12/07/01 FINAL WEEK – Wills Wing 2001 Fall Hang Glider Special ! Continued
Wills Wing Hang Glider & Paraglider E-News:Season’s Greetings
Production will close down for Christmas on Friday, December 14th. The office and the shipping department will remain open through the normal close of business on Wednesday, December 19th. We will all... Continued
Wills Wing Hang Glider E-News:New WW Flight Suit
MPH Sports is offering excellent flight suits emblazoned with the Wills Wing logo. These well-made, comfortable suits come in black w/red trim or black w/blue trim and are available in a range of size... Continued
140 Talon Released, Paraglider Specials: Volume 132
The first prototype of the small Talon had its first flight on May 10th. The new glider flew exceptionally well; the qualitative handling characteristics were very similar to those of the Talon 150, a... Continued
The Talon is here: Volume 131
Wills Wing is delighted to announce the release of our new, curved tip competition class glider, the Talon. Under intensive development since October of last year, the Talon – in the competition editi... Continued
E-News Volume 130
Many of you have heard rumors by now that we have a curved tip competition class glider under development. It’s true, we’ve been working on a new glider since October. It is not a modified Fusion. It ... Continued
2000 News Summary
11/07/00 The Eagle 164 and Fusion 141 SP are now HGMA certified The Eagle 164 and Fusion 141 SP have been certified by the Hang Glider Manufacturer’s Association. Continued
E-News Volume 129
The Condor 330 special-purpose training glider is now in production and available for purchase by flight schools. See the complete glider information later in this bulletin. Continued
E-news Volume 128
The good flying season is finally here! We have contracted with Bo Hagewood to do a northeast demo tour. Bo is a very experienced pilot, with tandem instructor and ATP ratings. He will have Fusions, U... Continued
E-news Volume 127
We are very excited to announce the release of the new Eagle 164. The Eagle is a medium performance, double surface glider that is exceptionally easy to fly. We developed the Eagle in response to your... Continued
Wills Wing Paragliding E-News #1
Greetings! We are writing today to tell you about a very special sale on paragliders, and to make you aware of some new equipment we’re promoting, selling and servicing. Continued
1999 News Summary
11/03/99 Wills Wing Pilots Win Ecuador National Championships After 3 days of competition this last weekend, the final positions for the Ecuadorian National Championships 1999 were: 1st place Rafael A... Continued
Wills Wing October 1999 Info Bulletin
The Wills Wing Team has been competing on a new, factory “works” Fusion 150 this summer with excellent results. We are proud to announce that this glider is now available for general release. For the ... Continued
1998 News Summary
11/29/98 Mitch McAleer Sets Looping Record World Aerobatic Champion Mitch McAleer broke the world looping record above Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janiero, Brazil this past weekend. Mitch was towed to 15... Continued
Wills Wing December 1998 Info Bulletin
Wallaby Ranch was so much fun this Spring we are going again in March. Demos of all our latest products will be available for you to fly. The public is invited, so we expect a big turnout. The dates l... Continued
Wills Wing April Info Bulletin
We have REDUCED the price on FUSIONS and XC’s ordered from inventory to $5495, and $4395 respectively. These new gliders will come stock with a regular speedbar, instead of a folding speedbar. We’re l... Continued
1997 News Summary
09/07/97 Wills Wing President Rob Kells Wins Morningside Glide Angle Contest on Fusion 150 Flying in what were described as excellent conditions for the 9th annual running of the event, Rob Kells took... Continued
Wills Wing October 1997 Info Bulletin
The vehicle test and flight test documentation has been completed on the large Ultra Sport, and we are now accepting orders. We expect to present the HGMA certification package on November 3rd. Delive... Continued
Wills Wing May 1997 Info Bulletin
We have a large selection of colors and sizes in stock. Dealers and distributors like WW Europa, Sport Opa Kite, Muller Hang Gliding, Flying People, Morningside, Lookout Mt, Fly High, Wallaby Ranch, M... Continued
1996 News Summary
12/12/96 Falcon Review from Hang Gliding Magazine Editor Gil Dodgen relates his impressions after flying the Falcon 195 and 225 gliders at Marshall Peak in Southern California. Continued
Wills Wing December 1996 Info Bulletin
Ultra Sport Certified and In Production Continued
Wills Wing November 1996 Info Bulletin
The new Ultra Sport 147, is released! All the vehicle tests are complete and we expect to certify it at the next HGMA meeting. We designed the Ultra Sport to be a move up glider from the Super Sport s... Continued