John W. Dickenson
Encyclopedia
The Ski Wing
On 1963, after seeing an image of a Rogallo wingRogallo wing
The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of airfoil. In 1948, Gertrude Rogallo, and her husband Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing...
airfoil on a magazine, Dickenson set to build a water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
wing that could be released at altitude for a glide to a safe landing, thus designed and built a water skiing kite wing he called the Ski Wing.
His ski kite format incorporated an airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...
with a triangle control frame having a basebar tow-point and was integrated on a Rogallo wing
Rogallo wing
The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of airfoil. In 1948, Gertrude Rogallo, and her husband Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, invented a self-inflating flexible wing they called the Parawing, also known after them as the "Rogallo Wing" and flexible wing...
airfoil
Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
, where the pilot sat on a swinging seat while the control frame and wire bracing distributed the load to the wing as well as giving a frame to brace for weight-shift control. Dickenson's Ski Wing turned out to be stable and controllable, unlike the flat manned kite
Kite
A kite is a tethered aircraft. The necessary lift that makes the kite wing fly is generated when air flows over and under the kite's wing, producing low pressure above the wing and high pressure below it. This deflection also generates horizontal drag along the direction of the wind...
s used at water ski
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
shows. The Ski Wing was first flown in public at the 'Grafton
Grafton, New South Wales
The city of Grafton is the commercial hub of the Clarence River Valley. Established in 1851, Grafton features many historic buildings and tree-lined streets. Located approximately 630 kilometres north of Sydney and 340 km south of Brisbane, Grafton and the Clarence Valley can be reached...
Jacaranda Festival', Australia, in September 1963 by Rod Fuller while towed behind a motorboat
Motorboat
A motorboat is a boat which is powered by an engine. Some motorboats are fitted with inboard engines, others have an outboard motor installed on the rear, containing the internal combustion engine, the gearbox and the propeller in one portable unit.An inboard/outboard contains a hybrid of a...
.
The Ski Wing was light and portable so Dickenson decided to file for a patent, but lacking on economic resources, the patent process of formal review of claims could not be entered to determine which, if any, of the claims could hold, so the patent was not awarded.
Legacy
His new hang glider format was further developed by other builders and directly helped to build the popularity of hang gliding around the world in the 1970s and 1980s.It is certain that many people from many countries, made contributions to the development of the flexible wing hang glider. In the aviation context of 'first flights' and recreational vs. commercial developments, new and old inventions often complement in synergy
Synergy
Synergy may be defined as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not independently obtainable.The term synergy comes from the Greek word from , , meaning "working together".-Definitions and usages:...
; it is in this evolutionary and social context that the crucial developments put together by Francis Rogallo
Francis Rogallo
Francis Melvin Rogallo was an American aeronautical engineer inventor born in Sanger, California, U.S.A.; he is credited with the invention of the Rogallo wing, or "flexible wing", a precursor to the modern hang glider and paraglider...
and John Dickenson, were the ones that were most successful and influential on the evolution of hang gliders.
Awards
Most recognitions and awards have been given to Dickenson decades after his invention:- 'Life Membership' to the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (1993)
- 'Certificate of Recognition' by the British Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (1993)
- Space Technology Hall of Fame (1995)
- Order of Australia (1996)
- Grafton Town Memorial, NSW Australia (2006)
- 'Certificate of Recognition' by the Hang Gliding Federation of Australia (2006)
- The Fédération Aéronautique InternationaleFédération Aéronautique InternationaleThe Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles...
Hang Gliding Diploma (2006) for the invention of the modern hang glider.
External links
- Video: Interview with John Dickenson, Bill Moyes and Francis Rogallo (1988): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sADQ7ViG3rc
- Video: Flexible wing. Interview with Francis Rogallo. NASA Destination- Tomorrow, segment explaining the history of the flexible wing and of the hang glider.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXNSTkhYy_s