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Francis M. Rogallo

Notes are invited: Send information, links, stories, photographs, memories, etc.:    Rogallo@HGAusa.com

• Did Rogallo invent the triangle control frame for hang gliders? 
  No, the triangle control 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 by Igor Bensen.
   
• 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-Rogalo 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 Dr. Rogallo to    Rogallo@HGAusa.com           He is almost one hundreds year old. We may not have him directly with us for long; let's hope for ten or more years.     Help build notes and text about Francis Melvin Rogallo, a "Dr." of hang gliding.
   
• 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.
   
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