You've got to have disposable income (and time) in order to go
hang gliding (and afford a new hang glider). Since 1973 male hourly wages have
not risen and men are working longer hours.

I wrote about this in March, 2013 here:
http://ozreport.com/17.055#1 and
http://ozreport.com/17.056#1.

Now comes more about this here:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/productivity-and-pay/ with a
link to this study:
http://www.epi.org/publication/understanding-the-historic-divergence-between-productivity-and-a-typical-workers-pay-why-it-matters-and-why-its-real/

I also reported on hang gliding prices over the years (Wills Wing started in
1973) starting a series of articles here:
http://ozreport.com/17.051.

Let's be clear about one thing. How much money you earn or have is a major
factor in your life experiences. You have a lot more options with more money
(and more time). Hang gliding is an option, not a necessity (at least for some
of us). The economic situation of the vast majority of American men between 25
and 54 is going to be a major determinate of whether they take up hang gliding
or not.

Of course, this is also true for many other pursuits including general aviation
and flying sailplanes. Both of these activities have suffered from a declining
population of willing participants as have we.

Of course, what is true for the mean is not true for everyone. There will still
be men who have the means to engage in our sport. It's just that there won't be
as many as there would be otherwise.