The wing, also known as the sail, is made from a strong, light plastic. Raw MaterialsĪ hang glider consists of a wing, a frame, cables, and items to hold these parts in place. Seven fatalities from hang gliding were reported in 1995, compared to 40 in 1974. Over the next several years, hang gliding became less of a dangerous fad and more of a serious sport. While California is the favored spot for hang gliders of the West, Dunlap, Tennessee, claims to be the hang gliding capital of the eastern United States, thanks to its location high atop the Cumberland Plateau. In 1971, the United States Hang Gliding Association was formed. Early hang gliders were also built in the United States from bamboo by Barry Hill Palmer in 1961 and in Australia from aluminum by John Dickenson in 1963.Īlthough the United States government abandoned using the Rogallo design for spacecraft parachutes in 1967, hang gliders using the same design became popular in the 1970s. Inspired by reports of these experiments, the American engineer Thomas Purcell build a 16 ft (4.9 m) wide Rogallo glider with an aluminum frame, wheels, a seat to hold a passenger, and basic control rods in 1961. Experiments were also made in building large powered Rogallo kites for military transportation. In the late 1950s, the United States government took an interest in the Rogallo design for use in parachutes designed to return spacecraft to Earth. The development of Mylar, an extremely light, strong plastic, improved the performance of the Rogallo kite. Instead, it remained limp until it was given firm but temporary shape by the wind in flight. Unlike other kites, the Rogallo design had no rigid supports. In 1948, the Rogallos applied for a patent for a flexible kite called a para-wing. The most important innovation in the development of the hang glider was made by the American inventors Gertrude and Francis Rogallo. At this time, light, smooth wings made of fiberglass were developed for gliders. The rapid development of powered flight in the twentieth century led to a decreased interest in gliders until after World War II. Chanute's work had an important influence on Orville and Wilbur Wright, who invented powered flight soon after. Inspired by Lilienthal, the American engineer Octave Chanute and his assistants made about two thousand glider flights from sand dunes on the shores of Lake Michigan at the turn of the century. After making more than two thousand successful flights, Lilienthal was killed in a crash in 1896. He also kept detailed records of his work, influencing later inventors. In the 1890s, Lilienthal built 18 gliders, which he flew himself. The next important pioneer in glider research was the German inventor Otto Lilienthal. In 1853, Cayley achieved the first successful human glider flight with a device that carried his coachman several hundred feet. In 1804, he flew his first successful model glider. By 1799, Cayley had established the basic design for gliders that is still used today. The modern history of gliding begins with the English inventor Sir George Cayley. The Italian artist and scientist Leonardo da Vinci made detailed sketches of various flying machines, but these devices were never built. Similar brief flights are said to have been made in Constantinople in the eleventh century and in Italy in 1498. He supposedly glided for about 600 ft (180 m) before landing and breaking both legs. Oliver of Malmesbury, an English monk, is said to have leapt from a tower with wings made of cloth in the year 1020. Human beings have attempted to fly using devices similar to hang gliders for at least one thousand years. Hang gliders, on the other hand, are usually launched from a high point and allowed to drift down to a lower point. Other gliders are usually towed by a car a airplane or otherwise launched into the air from the ground. Unlike other gliders that resemble unpowered airplanes, hang gliders look like large kites. A hang glider is an unpowered heavier-than-air flying device designed to carry a human passenger who is suspended beneath its sail.
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