The history of hang gliding, like the history of aviation in general, is full of many claims that either lack supporting evidence, or intellectual merit.
The history of the sport of hang gliding as it has come to be since the 1960’s is no different. Many false claims have been made; some were made in ignorance of the truth, based on assumptions and a failure to really notice the details of things. These claims, while innocent, are no less wrong and would have been dealt with long ago if any of the many authors who had written about hang gliding history had bothered to research their subject.
Other people, who while knowing the truth, have attempted to change the story as they attempted to claim credit for achievements that were not theirs,
This website aims to not only deal with these issues, and to give the true story, but also to make available the evidence that is reliable and available. It will also make available the counter claims, and deal with them individually.
Human beings dislike change, and therefore there has been a considerable effort to smother the telling of this story so that the old versions could remain unchallenged. The Internet however provides us with a means of circumventing the efforts of some magazine editors to censor the story so that they will not appear to have been wrong in the past.
While this website will not shrink from explaining the controversies, and naming names of those responsible for misrepresenting the history of the sport, it will provide the evidence so that the reader can explore the subject for themselves and reach their own conclusions.
This website is not purely about John Dickenson, it will contain a great deal of material about Francis Rogallo, and about NASA. It shall also provide information about Rod Fuller, Pat Crowe, Mike Burns and others who were involved in the invention and development of the modern hang glider. It will also explore the development of the Dickenson Wing from 1963 until now, identifying the important and successful changes, and seeking to give credit to the persons responsible for those improvements. Credit for improvements will only be given where evidence is available to support the claims however.
We will deal with the false stories that have been told, false stories like the story that John Dickenson only added a triangular control bar to a Rogallo Wing. False stories like; John Dickenson never flew.
When looking at the various attempts to utilise the Latten Boat Sail for flight, starting with Lavezzari in 1903, it is important to look past the similarities that can seem obvious, and to look for the differences that really do make all the difference.
The Dickenson Wing represents an important breakthrough, not just in aviation, but also in the aspirations of humanity. Da Vinci had everything that he needed to make this wing, indeed the technology has been available for thousands of years, he simply lacked John Dickenson’s eye for the simple solution.
The Dickenson Wing has been the template for over 90% of all of the hang gliders ever made, and it inspired most of the others. The Dickenson Wing also led to the modern Ultralight Aviation revolution, and was a catalyst for the sport of Paragliding.
An important point, but for the persistence of Francis Rogallo this story would most probably have been lost for all time, Francis Rogallo is held in the highest esteem by those of us responsible for this website, he is a man not only of great intelligence, but a man of great integrity, he is also the first person to describe these aircraft as Dickenson Wings.
Please enjoy the website, contact us if you have questions or information. We can do our best to help, but we can not always explain the motives behind the people who continue to tell false stories about this story, a careful read of the information provided will give you as much information on this matter as we have available.
Finally, this website is still growing, all of the work is being done by volunteers and it will be some time before all of the material is able to be processed and made available, but it is intended that this website should be a valuable resource for any person wishing to explore modern aviation history.
Graeme Henderson
16 April 2008
John Dickenson flying the Mark 3 version of his wing at Grafton, Australia 1965. The Dickenson wing and the pendulum weight shift control system is an aircraft design that has been used for perhaps 90% of all hang gliders made since. Unfortunately with little recognition, internationally and even in Australia, of the enormous contribution made by John Dickenson with the Dickenson wing and his pendulum weight shift control system.
Note the battens in the trailing edge of the sail.
ABC Radio Grafton
Interview with John Dickenson & Graeme Henderson
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Interview with Andy Abbott of his meeting with Francis Rogallo
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This site is currently under construction, information is being prepared for presentation at the moment and over the next few weeks much more material will be appearing on this site so keep an eye on it.
