![]() In the earliest Rogallo hang gliders, there were no wing spars or ribs to spread and hold the wing to generate lift. Smaller tubes and wires added rigidity and support the assembly. A person building the glider stretched a 'sail,' usually made of cheap plastic sheet but later, Dacron fabric, between the three tubes like the webbing on a duck's foot. In its early, basic, form Rogallo's wing consisted of three aluminum tubes, a central keel and two leading edges, all tied together at one end. These accessories equip conventional aircraft and make them many times heavier and more complex to construct and fly than a Rogallo. It is a flying wing with no fuselage and no tail, ailerons, flaps, or other devices to control direction of flight and altitude. Disappointing tests nixed this idea but not before it had migrated to creative minds outside the space agency who saw the potential to fly on very inexpensive wings.Ī Rogallo wing is one of the simplest flying devices ever created. NASA hoped to use Rogallo's wings to recover spacecraft. ![]() Francis Rogallo designed this unique wing for his employer, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Rogallo wing stirred the upsurge in the popularity of hang gliding that began in the late 1960s. Like the flexible wing, Rogallo-type hang gliders, one person could carry Kiceniuk's Icarus but she could fly it in more demanding conditions, such as weak lift or turbulence, than she could fly a Rogallo glider. Taras Kiceniuk, Jr., designed this revolutionary tailless, rigid-wing, hang glider. It was a rigid-wing, tailless biplane and young Taras named it "Icarus" after the Greek legend of a father and son who fashioned wings made of feathers and wax. The new hang glider was radically different from nearly every other hang glider flying at the time. Late in 1971, Taras and his father, Taras, Sr., realized that they could improve significantly on the Rogallo wing by moving to a rigid-wing configuration. Like the flexible wing, Rogallo-type hang gliders that preceeded it, one person could carry Kiceniuk's Icarus but she could fly it in more demanding conditions, such as weak lift or turbulence, than she could fly a Rogallo glider. Your support will help fund exhibitions, educational programming, and preservation efforts.īecome a member Wall of Honor Ways to give Host an Event Programs Learning resources Plan a field trip Educator professional development Education monthly theme Stories Topics Collections On demand For researchersīring the Air and Space Museum to your learners, wherever you are. National Air and Space Museum in DC Udvar-Hazy Center in VA Plan a field trip Plan a group visitĭiscover our exhibitions and participate in programs both in person or virtually.īrowse our collections, stories, research, and on demand content. Free timed-entry passes are required for the Museum in DC. Visit us in Washington, DC and Chantilly, VA to explore hundreds of the world’s most significant objects in aviation and space history.
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