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No, not really, all is legal. It just has to be slow (100 mph I believe) and weigh less than 200 lb (100 kg).

Unpowered verstions of paragliding and hand gliding are very popular and have been around for decades. Re: http://www.ushga.org/ and http://www.paragliding.net/
And the only reason the story made the front page is because it had 'anime'

Check your state law, however, as some states have certain restrictions on flying over populated areas, cities, etc.
Also, you might get shot down if you try to fly one of those around Washington, DC.

Someone touched on this a little earlier, but I'll try to make it a little more clear. IIRC, the USHGA concern with the Sport Pilot NPRM was that it would force the ultralight tugs used to tow instructor and student aloft would be categorized as a light sport plane. The tugs would then have to be maintained under FAA regs, by FAA licensed mechanics, and flown by pilots that would have to get a sport pilot license. It it worthy to note that a sport pilot is explicitely prohibited from towing anything (read: hang-gliders). The NPRM also expressly prohibited operating a light sport aircraft for compensation or hire. In other words, assuming the flight parks adhered to everything above, they still couldn't charge for tow operations.

In addition, one of the stated goals of the NPRM was to eliminate exemptions from Part 103. Namely the towing and tandem exemptions. Eliminating those would get rid of how a good deal number of hang-glider pilots are trained.

I just found the full write-up...here is the location:

http://www.ushga.org/article30.asp

IAHGP? (I am a hang glider pilot)

The US Hang Gliding Association (USHGA) had/has many concerns regarding the sport pilot program. Currently, hang glider and paraglider pilots fly under FAA part 103 which grants very liberal self-regulation to these pilots. One concern is that the sport pilot license is the beginning of the end to self-regulated hang glider/paraglider flight. The other problem is that it add stricter regulation for tow-parks such as Kitty Hawk Kites who tow hang gliders, which might hurt these outfits since they already have a tough time making money. There's also an often-ignored group of powered hang-glider's and powered paragliders that are like ultra-ultralights (sometimes <100lbs), who typically fly unregulated who may now need to have a sport pilot license, along with annual flight inspections, etc. That's a pain for something that fits in your trunk.

It is a double-edged sword, because some of these above groups fell into loopholes in the regulations, so the FAA's handling of thse groups may determine if the sport pilot license is a good thing or a bad thing.

IAHGP? (I am a hang glider pilot)

The US Hang Gliding Association (USHGA) had/has many concerns regarding the sport pilot program. Currently, hang glider and paraglider pilots fly under FAA part 103 which grants very liberal self-regulation to these pilots. One concern is that the sport pilot license is the beginning of the end to self-regulated hang glider/paraglider flight. The other problem is that it add stricter regulation for tow-parks such as Kitty Hawk Kites who tow hang gliders, which might hurt these outfits since they already have a tough time making money. There's also an often-ignored group of powered hang-glider's and powered paragliders that are like ultra-ultralights (sometimes <100lbs), who typically fly unregulated who may now need to have a sport pilot license, along with annual flight inspections, etc. That's a pain for something that fits in your trunk.

It is a double-edged sword, because some of these above groups fell into loopholes in the regulations, so the FAA's handling of thse groups may determine if the sport pilot license is a good thing or a bad thing.

IAHGP? (I am a hang glider pilot)

The US Hang Gliding Association (USHGA) had/has many concerns regarding the sport pilot program. Currently, hang glider and paraglider pilots fly under FAA part 103 which grants very liberal self-regulation to these pilots. One concern is that the sport pilot license is the beginning of the end to self-regulated hang glider/paraglider flight. The other problem is that it add stricter regulation for tow-parks such as Kitty Hawk Kites who tow hang gliders, which might hurt these outfits since they already have a tough time making money. There's also an often-ignored group of powered hang-glider's and powered paragliders that are like ultra-ultralights (sometimes <100lbs), who typically fly unregulated who may now need to have a sport pilot license, along with annual flight inspections, etc. That's a pain for something that fits in your trunk.

It is a double-edged sword, because some of these above groups fell into loopholes in the regulations, so the FAA's handling of thse groups may determine if the sport pilot license is a good thing or a bad thing.

I messed up another link. :(

It is called a Hang Glider.

Just a little note. It is called a , not a handglider. Your hands just grip the bar, but you "hang" under the glider.