Francis Rogallo
1912–2009
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Rogallo, a Stanford graduate, perfected the concept at home, said The New York Times. He used “table fans and cardboard to erect wind tunnels.” Rogallo hoped his wing could carry payloads and even propel vehicles. “But nobody was interested.” So he marketed his invention as a toy, calling it the “Flexikite.” Then, in 1957, when Sputnik galvanized America’s interest in space, NASA seized on Rogallo’s invention, “now called the paraglider,” as a means “to bring space capsules back to earth” and paid him $35,000 to develop the concept. Although NASA ultimately favored “the old-fashioned parachute,” flying buffs became fascinated by paraglider news in aviation magazines. “In Australia, people began to think the new wing might be just the thing for flying behind boats, while adventurous Americans imagined jumping off hills.” In October 1961, an aeronautical engineer named Barry Palmer did just that, taking to the skies near Sacramento in the first hang glider flight.
After retiring in 1970, Rogallo moved to Kitty Hawk, N.C., the site of the Wright brothers’ airplane triumphs. There, at age 62, he began gliding for the first time, and did so for the next 18 years.
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