Funny you should ask...in my opinion paragliding is the younger cousin to hang gliding. We rely on all the same conditions to soar, fly at the same sites, and share the same risks. When you are a pilot in the United States, every site requires you to become a member of the USHPA (United States hangliding and paragliding association) this a fairly new sport 1990s where as hangliding has been around since the 70s.