I wonder why aviation is not part of Olympic Games ?

[cantab]

To be honest all sports are costly to train for at a high level. But in terms of those that are costly just to get started, I think location restrictions are likely to have the biggest impact. Skiing and snowboarding for most people require taking a full-on holiday.

[vger]

Historical accident and commercial pressures. Gliding and ballooning are not likely to make good spectator sports. Red Bull Air Race style stuff does, but motorised sports just aren't seen in the Olympics.

Gliding could, if done right. It'd at least be as worthy as the downhill. Most of that run is only visible to us through TV cameras. There are only a couple of spots on the where spectators can stand. Everyone else is just waiting at the bottom.

I like the idea of the diving down a mountain as shown in one of the earlier videos.

Another thing you could do with it is has a competition based around landing, trying to get as close to the center of a target as possible. Points can be awarded for both accuracy and the quality of the landing. You could do this with hang gliding and also parachuting.

Another thing to keep in mind about a hang gliding race. With the kind of financial resources they have available to them, would it be possible to design a course with artificially-generated thermal currents? Perhaps enabling gliders to maintain a stable flight near the ground without fear of losing altitude? It would give the spectators a show more comparable to classic air racing. Who knows if it's possible or not though.

And KerikBalm... that Riding down the Eiger video... that just scares the heck out of me. Even more than it would just using skis.

Edited October 6, 2014 by vger

[KerikBalm]

And KerikBalm... that Riding down the Eiger video... that just scares the heck out of me. Even more than it would just using skis.

Bah, once(if) you learn to fly, you'll think otherwise. I'm often more afraid of the drive up a mountain road, than I am of a flight down.

Many mountain roads, I'd much rather fly down than drive down.

Do you think a bird is afraid of heights? When I'm not attached to my wing, I'm quite afraid of getting near the edge of anything that is higher than I could safely fall from.

But strapped to a glider I've just pre-flighted, facing the wind/in no wind with no obstacles in front of me... its like a mental switch gets set to "capable of flight = true", and its not scary anymore.