Authors: Phil Scott
Date Submitted: February 28, 2005
Article Type: Journal

In his recent book The Wrong Stuff: Attempts at Flight Before (and After) the Wright Brothers, published by the Smithsonian Institution, author Phil Scott cites the Rogallo Wing as a case in point.

His succinct text reads: “The Russians landed their crewed space capsules on land, and the Americans landed theirs in the ocean. The American way was more expensive (it required a U.S. Navy ship and a few helicopters and frogmen, etc.) so an engineer for NASA named Francis Rogallo came up with a solution. Known as the Rogallo Wing, it would unfold on a Gemini spacecraft after it reentered the atmosphere and would act as a parachute and allow the crew to land on U.S. soil. The 31-foot Wing was simpler than a cardboard box. It consisted of four parts: three lightweight tubes, one running down the middle dissecting a broad V-shape made from the outer two. Its cover consisted of a loose, lightweight nylon cloth that ballooned outward as the wing flew, creating lift similar to a modern sport parachute. With the capsule attached somewhere near the middle, the simple device would allow the capsule to glide down and land presumably under the crew’s control. It never caught on with NASA, however, but in the late ‘60s it spawned a movement that still exists today. That’s right: hang gliding. As time flew by such gliders became more complex, with ribs and two-surface wings more swept than delta. And today Francis Rogallo is revered by glider fliers everywhere as the father of, yes, hang gliders.”

In an aside, the author notes that a Rogallo Foundation was established in 1992 and is constructing a museum close to the Wright Brothers Memorial on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Dedicated to Francis Rogallo and wife Gertrude, the museum will preserve their papers, research, and artifacts.

PDF Link: Journal Issue