- Did Rogallo invent the triangle control frame for hang gliders?
No, the triangle control frame or A-frame for hang gliders was invented mechanically for
foot launch hang gliders in at least the early year of 1908 in Breslau;
further use was in many places including the Spratt before the 1950s; and a
firm use was in a kite-glider for homebuilders by Igor
Bensen...well published in the first half of 1950s; Mike Burns SkiPlane used
the A-frame in 1962. The first decade of 1900s had a first issue of
FLIGHT; in that issue was a featuring of the triangle A-frame for aviation.
The Pilcher hang glider had a firm A-frame. There was no triangle bar Rogallo
at Otto Meet of May 23, 1971. The first triangle bar Rogallo at a So.
Calalifornia meet was Kilbourne's at the Montgomery meet in August of 1971
(ref: Matt Colver).
- Did Rogallo invent the fully-flexible limp airfoil?
It appears that he was first to describe, make, fly, and patent the fully
flexible limp airfoil as a kite and as a glider. With that Rogallo Wing in
focus, he claimed in his patent stiffenings of the same. Such understanding
seems not be have been before him. However, the resulting objects under
stiffenings are found before him in hang gliders, kites, and other aircraft;
in that light he has less hold on mechanical invention of the generic
stiffened or boned flexible wing hang glider, as such flew in at least the
first decade of the 1900s.
- Did Rogallo invent the modern hang glider?
Certainly not. For one, there is no "the" modern hang glider. Secondly, many
see "modern" from Otto Lilienthal forward; others see "modern" from Rogallo
and Jalbert gliding devices. Others see "modern" from Roy Haggard and
Seedwings forward. Others see "modern" as the revisiting of
double-surfaced wings for hang gliders. Yet, in all the points, the hang
glider generically had already been invented in the 1800s forward and then
detail sub-assemblies were invented along the way to bring forward various
performance advantages. The flexible wing stiffened was foot launched in the
first decade of 1900s in France, at least. In 1908 a hang glider of
flexible wing stiffenened with ribs-battens hung the hang glider pilot behind
a cable-stayed triangle control frame. Francis Rogallo spoke in
conferences, wrote in letters, gave hangar flights of dolled models, etc.
during the late 1940s, through the 1950s, to urge use of the limp wing and its
stiffenings for kiting, manned kiting, hang gliding, and then space-reentry
use, as well as powered versions. This leadership occurred before the Ryan
Aeronautical vehicles, before the Barry Hill Palmer foot-launch hang glider
(1960-1962), before the SkiPlane kite-glider (1962 f) with its repeat use of
the triangle control frame, and much before Miller's foot-launch hang gliding,
before the Australian late-comers (Dickenson, Bennett, Moyes) who
aqua-kited for many years before Moyes just before 1970 snow-skied off a
mountain for free-flight (mid-century foot-launch hang gliding was a decade
later in Australia than Palmer's. Francis Rogallo urged
scores of people to use his instructed and patented insight of the limp wing
as well as its stiffenings. The followed-Rogallo users in NASA
and its subcontracting companies pointed to Francis Rogallo's
foundational patents for their polishing off sized versions with various
choices of materials and folding and stowing patterns. The USA,
Europeans, and Australians all gave reference to the Rogallo-to-NASA-to-Ryan
Aeronautical bed of data, wind-tunnel testing, and framing leadership while
also picking and choosing from the rich prior art of hang gliders and kiting
from 1870 through 1959. Modern hang gliders hold detail subassembly
inventions post-1971, but what occurred in the stiffened Rogallo Wing hang
gliders (seven or eight of Palmer first, and then others later) were
revisiting mechanical arts that had already existed. Those who look to
David Cronk, Roy Haggard, Bob (Robert) Trampenau (Seedwings), and others for
modern inventions that moved the NASA-and-prior-base to new handiness are
flying the skies today.
Will Otto
Lilienthal be held as the inventor of the modern hang glider? That is up for
discussion. Did Rogallo invent the Rogallo Wing (full limp) hang
glider; probably yes to a high extent, as he seems first to have seen,
mechanically patented, flew working models, and even put forth a leadership
that brought forward working manned parawing governable gliders capable of
foot-launching and gliding. Rogallo, by some, is seen as the modern Pied Piper
and Johnny Appleseed of a family of gliders, kites, hang gliders, and powered
vehicles that were being seen by engineers, administrators, authors, and
patentees as stemming from his patents, working models,
talks, writings, and working scaled demonstrations. Rogallo left it to others
to use his mechanical invention and instructions as well as see in stiffenings the underlying
potential of the Rogallo Wing ...that earlier ages did not see.
- Why have some people held in esteem Francis M. Rogallo as "Dr.
Rogallo" in their conversations and writings?
You would have to ask each person that so uses the "Dr." as each of their
stories probably has its own meaning. He has been formally proposed at several
universities, including his alma mater, for receiving an academic
institution's high five for an honorary doctorate. He has been formally
granted a hang glider honorary doctorate from Self-Soar Association. For
decades promoting his findings he spoke and wrote to scientists, aeronautical
engineers, kite makers, space vehicle engineers, manned kiters, and more. The
1957 Sputnik challenge brought him even further platform for hawking his
mechanical instructions. Rogallo gave a fresh 1950s foundation for a
renaissance in light aircraft including hang gliding. For many in hang
gliding, Francis earned many times over the honorific of "Dr."
- Send paragraphs of your research on Rogallo. He
has died. Do you respect him as a "Dr." of the wing or not. What
is your take?
- Here is a reprint of what came from Rogallo:
http://HangGliderHistory.com
Scroll down on that first page for what he let be published in the early 1970s
in the then-only international hang gliding periodical.
- The Olympus father of hang gliding by many is Otto Lilienthal. But
others have been holding Francis Rogallo also as another "father of hang gliding"
with an implication that the timing via the Sputnik backing influence gave
hang-glider and gliding-kite children to the popular revisiting in a big way
of hang gliding; thus Rogallo's leadership and momentum for light-winged
gliders and kites morphed him--by acceptance--as a father of the renaissance
in the recent decades. Other fathers by esteem: Percy Pilcher, John J.
Montgomery, Octave Chanute, Horten Brothers, Volmer Jensen, Barry Hill Palmer,
Richard Miller, Klaus Hill, Bill Bennett (uncle to many), Bill Moyes, Dave
Kilbourne, Dick Eipper, Roy Haggard, Bob Trampenau ... And other
fathers followed. The list just shown is not
comprehensive, as others hold even others as fathers of their hang gliding
experience. The excitement of flying just seems to bring out a
gratitude for our fathers. Are there mothers?
Send in any mothers that seem to apply.
-
Email copied to Mark Woodhams
Graeme Henderson, hopefully also to JD
Tony Prentice
Bob Kuczewski
Frank Colver
and also to editor at USHPA.
June 12, 2012
Yet some clearing is needed
Hi Mark,
Corrections and filling would be neat for your follow-on publishing:
1. FLIGHT fully described the intricacies of "the control method" in its first
issue. So, J.D. did not invent such.
2. In 1800s patent by Beeson, the control method was fully implicated and
share with world using flexible-wing keeled kite-glider.
3. Background inside J.D. fully had Bensen …and first half of the 1950s Bensen
published and showed the control method to the world. And J.D. was embedded in
the Bensen flow; such embedding ought to become part of the full story. Again,
the control method as already ancient for aviation, gliders, and hang gliders.
4. The control method was embedded in the Mike Burns kite-glider before J.D.
5. Palmer knew the ancient control method and explored it.
6. John Worth …again prior to J.D. fully materialized the control method with
triangle control frame.
7. In Breslau in 1908 gliding club hang glider foot launched had the exact
cable-stayed A-frame with pilot hung from keel behind the A-frame. Again, J.D.
had no invention on control method or wing.
8. Low & Slow morphed to Hang
Glider Weekly and
not to Ground
Skimmer nor Hang
Gliding.
Please correct that also. Thanks. You might explore the over 100 issues of Hang
Glider Weekly
9. Rogallo's patent included the option of stiffening; there is no way around
that when accurate; however, such overlapped then the aspects of earlier
invention as you note in your works.
10. The long and enduring work of Rogallo had such impact and following that
there was every good reason to give his tag to the wings that ensued. You come
close to seeing that, but the drive to tilt to JD via GH seemingly won't let
you see the world-wide publication impact that let the Rogallo tag be valid.
Rogallo's conferences, hangar demonstrations, memos, letters, speeches,
responses, etc. for two decades brought a synergy that earned him the tag for
a large sector of the HG renaissance. The Rogallo impact gave root and
platform for the JD tinkering flow. The Rogallo impact gave cause for the Low
& Slow energy
that put Rogallo wing plans into 23 nations. Rogallo was our "Doctor" before
we barely knew the JD tickle. To overlook the facts of impact in the world
just to satisfy the extreme GH-love-for-JD energy would continue the travesty
of false-invention accolades that stream from the GH-now-Woodham's ink.
Yelling does not erase the historical impact facts about Rogallo. Errors in
the GH-pushed FAI accolades may never be undone to the loss of the fullness of
hang glider history; but you, Mark, still have a chance to bring balance to
the story; be very careful of the GH tilt for JD, if you ever want to
appreciate a balanced history of HG.
11. There is more of Berck Beach happenings in 1904c knowable for flexible
wing hang gliders. As community, we all might dig it all up in time. Best of
findings to you, Mark.
12. GH has persevered, but he carries some deep interpretative errors that you
seem to copy. Dare to put equivalent energy to John Worth, just for one, and
see what occurs! How Worth was missed in your text is still a mystery; the
Bensen aura in JD is also severely missed, yet the matter is fertile and would
wipe out the "control method" A-frame false-claims in the GH text.
13. Pendulum mass-moving control of gliding beneath parasol wing was known
fully by Cayley; no one could after that point invent the control method.
14. J.D. saw the stiffened Ryan Aeronautical wing and morphed a wing in his
tinkering. Countryman Aussie Mike Burns saw the NASA wings and papers and
produced nearby prior to JD a kite-glider (Burn's terms). that used the
ancient control method.
15. Full appreciation of Effinger would be nice.
16. The impact of the 1960 PM article would be neat to bring to center.
Keep up the good work; and there is hope that you will find ways to correct
texts and bring balance to the history. There is still time… Some young
authors have challenge ahead to bring out the rich more accurate history of
hang gliding.
Lift,
Joe Faust
tag: rogallohanggliders
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