HANG GLIDER MANUFACTURERS SERIES

These gliders are now called 'topless gliders'. In the late 1990s the kingpost on top of the wing was removed to further increase the performance by reducing drag. Bob Trampenau of Seedwings introduced the VG (variable geometry), which was copied on most other gliders. The first glider without a keel pocket was the Wills Wing 'HP' (1984). Virtually all gliders over the next decade were refinements of the Comet. The first true 'double surface' glider was the UP 'Comet' designed by Roy Haggard (1980). Hang glider performance then increased rapidly.

The Atlas had all of the security elements that can still be found today. The pilot also flew in a prone position as with the Rogallo wing hang gliders. It resembled Icarus V but had a flexible wing and no rudders. In 1978, the Atlas ( La Mouette) entered the market. Although many Icarus II and Icarus V gliders were built from plans sold by Kiceniuk, they were never commercially produced.

HANG GLIDER MANUFACTURERS SERIES

All of the hang gliders in the Icarus series had hand-controlled rudders and the pilot flew in a reclining position (rather than a prone position as with other hang gliders). It was essentially a monoplane version of the previous Icarus designs. Icarus V was the precursor to the modern hang glider. These were rigid biplane flying wing designs by Taras Kiceniuk, Jr. The first notable hang gliders to abandon the Rogallo wing were Icarus I and Icarus II. In the 1960s and the early 1970s many gliders were built that can only be called dangerous. Paragliding has since become an alternative to hang gliding.įor a fuller hang glider history see the Hang Glider History group. Hang gliding then became popular world-wide, with the peak in the 1980s. From there, much of the development of hang gliders occurred in Australia, where the first hang glider manufacturing firms were established. This device was considered as a possible landing system for the astronauts return to earth. Modern hang gliding was invented, or at least strongly influenced, by the NASA technician Francis Rogallo in 1948 with the invention of the Flexkite. Hang gliding in the Austrian Alps, above Zell am See

Hang glider manufacturers