Hang Glider Glossary

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Beak, beaking, whack: Part of the airframe hits the ground and causes quick pitching so that the HG nose or beak hits the ground. This is not good for the hang glider and may be an occasion for severe injury to the pilot.
fliking fly and hiking combined. Rooted in self-soar hang gliding literature.
VG or VB Variable geometry or variable billow.  Frequently a VG cord is used to set and release amounts of variation. In Europe: VB cord.
Red offers:
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VG or VB:
This term refers to a cord used by the HG pilot to change the
billow (or slackness) in the sail, in flight. It is called a VG
(Variable Geometry) cord, in the USA. In European circles, the cord is
call a VB (Variable Billow) cord. In sailboat terms, it is the
difference between relaxed downwind cruising and racing across the wind
close-hauled.

The VG cord is released fully, and the sail is relaxed (somewhat
looser) usually, for the launch, landing, and for fun cruising. The
glider responds more easily to control inputs, and the glider usually
stalls with rather more forgiving qualities.

The VG cord can be pulled (and latched there, in a sailboat
jam-cleat), when the pilot wants better gliding performance (a better
glide-ratio). The sail is pulled tighter and flatter by the VG cord.
This better glide performance comes with a price in handling, though.
The glider will respond slower to control inputs, and in turbulence,
corrections will take longer, and need more effort. Stalls may be
somewhat rude (depending on the design of the glider); the stall may
happen abruptly, making launches risky, and landings riskier. Entire
flights can be flown without ever using the VG cord, but if it is pulled
it on, it is not wise to forget it; simply release the VG cord from the
jam-cleat, before beginning to land.

Gliders with VG cords are designated for intermediate and
advanced HG pilots. Gliders built for beginner/intermediate HG pilots
will not usually have a VG system. On most VG gliders, the crossbars
that hold the sail open (by spreading the leading edge spars) will have
a slight V at their center, pointed toward the nose of the glider. The
VG cord uses a compound pulley system to pull back on the apex of the V,
which can spread the sail fully tight, or allow the sail enough room to
relax and billow slightly. There is a stop-cable on the crossbar apex
which prevent the crossbars from going too far forward, and another
stop-cable, which prevents the crossbars from being pulled too far back
(which could stress or stretch the sail). The VG cord could fail
entirely, and the glider will simply default to the easy-to-fly setting,
and fly safely there.

Once the HG pilot has launched safely and gained some clearance
from the ground, the pilot will usually pull on some VG, and fly at that
"partial VG" setting. A pilot might pull on "full VG" when there is a
need to cross a large area between two good places, such as when
crossing a valley between two mountains. The VG cord might be released
or relaxed, when arriving at the next good area (to ease the pilot
efforts required for cruising), or in turbulence (to make corrections
easier and less often necessary).
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Glider Trim:
This term usually refers to the position of the pilot's weight,
fore-and-aft on the keel of the glider. Changing that "hang point"
location will cause the glider to fly faster or slower, when the pilot
releases the control bar, and effectively "puts the hands in their
pockets." When this "trim setting" is correct, the glider will fly
itself, in straight lines, at the correct airspeed, if the pilot just
releases the control bar. Normal HG flying takes very little effort,
but constant turns and turbulence can cause fatigue, after enough hours.
The gentle art of hands-off soaring may be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyZqX8SQE84

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VG rope

 
Morphing Shape-changing
Hold short areas Stop, look, listen, observe airspace; when permitted by local rules, continue to cross a landing zone space. Hold your glider at the hold short space before entering what could be a busy zone.
WPRS World Pilot Ranking System (WPRS) http://civlrankings.fai.org/?a=0& 
CHT Cylinder head temperature
EGT Exhaust gas temperature
A box, B box , etc. http://www.ultralightnews.ca/articles/driveselection.htm
NTSS National Team Selection System
SAT Safety Acro Team
SAT The Sat maneuver is a base or starting point for other maneuvers or Acro series. But not all of the gliders are suitable for this trick. Evaluating gliders: http://www.ojovolador.com/eng/read/tecnics/survey_gliders_sat/report_gliders_sat.htm
Eindecker Eindecker (one wing)
Dreidecker Dreidecker or Triplane (with three wings)
DBF approach  Downwind, Base, Final  (into wind or upwind)
PIO

GIO

 Pilot induced oscillations

Glider induced oscillations
Tet Tetrahedron
TCF A-frame   or   triangle control frame  (cable-stayed or strut-stayed. Hang glider with battened stiffened flexible wing hang glider used the cable-stayed triangle control bar at least a gliding club in the territory of Breslau in the first decade of the 1900s; see photo of an example in 1908.  Others used the same in 1920, 1929, in the 1950s motor-boat towed kite-gliders, the 1961-2 footlaunch Palmer hang glider, the Burns aqua-Rogallo-glider of 1963 April, and then many others up to today.
modern  Early century tower leaper-gliders were pre-modern. Otto Lilienthal began modern hang gliding sport. The WWI caused a pause while power was sought. A refreshed modern hang gliding began in 1920 as the German public were not allowed to used powered recreational aircraft; they continued hang gliding and gliding sport. Volmer Jensen and others continued hang gliding. The pausing in modern hang gliding by virtue of WWII was temporary; after the war a refreshing renaissance of personal aviation began with aqua-gliders, aqua-kites, and Palmer's foot launching of Rogallo hang gliders. Francis Rogallo demonstrated working model hang gliders to NASA in the late 1950s. Charles Richards built for NASA a four-boom foldable sail-scalloped Dacron sail hang glider for eight pilots to glide in; the wing format of the Fleep or the Charles Richards team's hang glider became the template for hang gliders for some 12 years.
TED TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design
TetCF Tetrahedron control frame
HexCF Hexahedron control frame (see Gyro hang glider)
TCF Triangle control frame, see above
TIP Technology Innovation Program
NIST National Institute of Standards and Technology
SIV SIV - Simulations of Incidents en Vol (in flight).
Washout tubes WASHOUT TUBES — struts attached to leading edges near wingtips. Part of gliders' dive recovery system
sprog "Sprogs are wire braced struts enclosed in the sail that support the outboard trailing edge on high performance flexwing hang gliders to maintain the washout (twist) in the wing." SRef1  
luff lines and washout rods Luff lines and washout rods
tip wand
prone
supine
suprone
ELT      ELB

PLB

 Emergency locator transmitter;    emergency locator beacon

PLB (P-ELT) (P-EPIRB) (Personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) ;   distress radiobeacon

Article1  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_Locator_Transmitter
 
TSO http://www.faa.gov/aircraft/air_cert/design_approvals/tso/
Technical Standard Orders (TSO)
Competition scoring ABS, DSQ, DNF, NYP: Absent, Disqualified, Did not fly, Not yet processed,
DNL Did not land                   HG pilot launched, flew, but never ever landed. S(he) is still flying. Ever up.   This is not just humor, but a nod to those who have taken the Next Thermal and are flying about for us.

One source's take on some powered paraglider introductory terms:

ASC: An abbreviation for Aero Sports Connection.

Beehive: A term used in aviation to designate the "home" airport. The term has its roots in The Beehive, London, Gatwick’s first passenger terminal building built in 1936.

BFI: An abbreviation for a Basic Flight Instructor as certified by the Aero Sports Connection (ASC). See ASC's Guide to Becoming an Instructor. A BFI rating allows the holder to instruct in ultralights only- not in aircraft.

Brakes: Control lines that are attached to the trailing edge of the paraglider near the wing tips. Pulling downward on these control lines in turn pulls down on the trailing edge of the respective side of the wing which slows that side of the wing.

Cage: A circular ring at the aft side (propeller side) of a paramotor that supports some form of webbing. The purpose of the cage and webbing are to keep foreign objects (such as the paraglider lines) from entering the area of the propeller.

Canopy: Another name used to describe a paraglider wing.

Cell: A compartment within a paraglider wing that is enclosed by the top and bottom surfaces of the wing and by the ribs of the wing on either side. Most cells are open at the leading edge of the wing.

CFI: An abbreviation for a Flight Instructor (Certified Flight Instructor) certified and qualified by the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). This certification/rating is required to provide flight instruction in aircraft.

Chute: Another name used to describe a paraglider wing.

Collapse: The phenomena of an inflated wing losing sufficient internal pressure to maintain its rigidity and subsequently deforming from the appropriate airfoil shape.

Controls: Lines that are attached to the trailing edge of the paraglider near the wing tips. Pulling downward on these control lines in turn pulls down on the trailing edge of the respective side of the wing which slows that side of the wing. Controls are also referred to as brakes. There are, however, other lines that can be utilized to control a paraglider wing that are not the same as the "brakes".

DHV-1: A rating of an un-motorized paraglider by the DHV (Deutscher Hangegleiter Verband), a predominant combined German and Swiss certification agency for paragliders. This rating applies to  paragliders with simple and very forgiving flying characteristics.

DHV-1/2: A rating of an un-motorized paraglider by the DHV (Deutscher Hangegleiter Verband), a predominant combined German and Swiss certification agency for paragliders. This rating applies to paragliders with good-natured flying characteristics.

DHV-2: A rating designation of an un-motorized paraglider by the DHV (Deutscher Hangegleiter Verband), a predominant combined German and Swiss certification agency for paragliders. This rating applies to paragliders with demanding flying characteristics and potentially dynamic reactions to turbulence and pilot errors. Recommended for regularly flying pilots.

EAA: An abbreviation for an the Experimental Aircraft Association.

Forward: A paraglider or powered paraglider launch during which the pilot faces into the wind and inflates the wing, from a position on the ground behind him/her to the flying position overhead, by moving forward to create enough air flow for the paraglider to fly. This launch technique is usually utilized in light wind conditions.

Ground Handling: The act of controlling the paraglider/paramotor while on the ground prior to takeoff and after landing. Also known as kiting.

Glider: A term used for a paraglider.

Headwind: A wind that is blowing opposite your direction of travel... thus resisting your progress in the direction into the wind.

Harness: An apparatus used to connect a paramotor and/or a paraglider wing to the pilot.

Inflation: The transition of a wing into the flying mode.

Kiting: The act of controlling the paraglider/paramotor while on the ground prior to takeoff and after landing. Also known as ground handling.

Launch: Takeoff.

LZ: An abbreviation for landing zone (area).

P-1: A rating designation for a beginner paraglider pilot.

P-2: A rating designation for a novice paraglider pilot. .

P-3: A rating designation for an intermediate paraglider pilot.

Paramotor: A backpack type motorized harness consists of a two-cycle gasoline engine that turns a propeller, a protective cage around the propeller, a nylon harness/seat combination, and a frame that the harness, motor, and cage are attached to.

Paramotoring: A synonym for powered paragliding.

PPG: An abbreviation for powered paragliding, paramotoring, and/or a powered paragliding equipment.

PPC: An abbreviation for a powered parachute.

Prop: An abbreviated term used for propeller.

Reverse: A paraglider or powered paraglider launch during which the pilot faces with his/her back to the wind and inflates the wing, from a position on the ground in front of him/her to the flying position overhead, by flying the wing into the airflow, to the overhead position, like a kite. This launch technique is usually utilized in stronger wind conditions.

Tailwind: A wind that is blowing in your direction of travel... thus enhancing your progress in the direction of wind.

Tandem: A dual flight or equipment designed for dual flight.

Thrust: The force that is created by the paramotor that is transferred to the pilot.

Trike: A three wheeled vehicle, sometimes equipped with two seats. To distinguish between PPC trikes and PPG trikes, PPG trikes are sometimes referred to as "carts".

Ultralight: In the U.S., a vehicle as defined by Part 103 Section 103.1 of the FARs (Federal Aviation Regulations).

UFI: An abbreviation for an Ultralight Flight Instructor as certified by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). See EAA's Guide to Becoming an Ultralight Flight Instructor. A UFI rating allows the holder to instruct in ultralights only- not in aircraft.

Wing: A term used for a paraglider.

 

Editorial:     Supposed expert miss the point that "hang gliders" includes limp to solid wings; many keep straining to remove paragliders from hang gliders, which misses so many great opportunities of all the shades between parawing governable parachutes (a type of hang glider) and the coming solid tethered wing for hang gliding.

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