At 05:18 27 February 2004, Mark James Boyd wrote:
In article ,
Gill Couto wrote:
If I could add a few words about another good way for
manufacturers to
gain exposure that is very common in the foot-launched
world of hang
gliders, it's yearly manufacturer demo days.

Hang glider manufacturers meet several times a year
at well-known hang
gliding sites for 2-3 days to give many pilots the
opportunity to test
fly their latest HG models, all at no charge. This
is one of the most
successful ways for HG manufacters to gain customers.
It's always the
most popular event of the year for HG in Arizona.

But, since sailplanes easily last decades, the market
is probably much
less active than the HG market, where many pilots trade
their hang
gliders every 2-4 years, or every year for many competition
pilots.
Exposure is good, but if it doesn't lead to more sales,
it's no more
than an extra expense for the manufacturers.

gill
www.gillcouto.com/hg

See! This is why I think the SSA (and others) should
mix more with
the parachute, ultralight, and hang gliding community.
There
are some really creative ideas these guys have that
just don't
pop up in the slightly stiffer glider community. Sure
I think they're
zany (no rigid wing?) but they're fun!!!

Stiff? In a word, illegal!