[rgptak]

Has anyone used their Element to transport a hang glider? My son is a hang gliding instructor in North Carolina and wants to mount his hang glider on the roof!

Any ideas?

 

[ramblerdan]

Welcome, Rgptak.

People have strapped long kayaks and such to their Element roofs, so I don't know why a hang glider wouldn't fit up there. Does you Element have a factory or aftermarket rack? Either should work, but IMO a Thule or Yakima will be a little better thanks to their straight crossbars.

 

[protaganis]

I believe we did have someone say that they'd hooked up their hang glider on the roof, about the time I joined (Roughly 2 yrs. ago). But, for the life of me I can't remember much of that conversation.
Found 2 links for you:
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=60100&highlight=Glider
http://www.elementownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53350&highlight=Glider

 

[4Fold]

Hang Gliders

I was recently at Jockey's Ridge for a weekend hang gliding event. I saw several Elements in the parking lot that transported gliders. One was from Florida---a pretty good distance from the Outer Banks of NC.

It looks like the "standard" method is to use a long extension ladder tied to the roof racks (after market racks seemed to be the most common of what I saw).

The ladder is light weight and offers good rigidity to support the kite. I saw several small station wagons with the same sort of rig--but most of them had a trailer hitch and had a vertical support mounted to the hitch receiver.

Weight should be no problem...just be sure to tie both ends to the car.

 

[boley]

If your son is not already familiar with the site, send him to http://www.hanggliding.org/

The site is an excellent resources including a wiki article on roof racks: http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/Car_Rack