Product Lines – December 2004

WALLABY RANCH, FL — While northerners prepare for winter and snow, it’s hot and
sunny here in Florida. I’m in the state for a collection of aviation events, kicked
off by a big gathering at Malcolm Jones’ “Ranch.”
They called it the Moyes Boys Reunion. When most of us hear “reunion” we think
of Class Reunions, and many groan about having to attend. Since I similar gatherings
like Dockweiler and Grandfather Mountain, I was pleased to make this one. I saw old
friends I hadn’t seen in 20+ years. But what really moved me was meeting John
Dickenson, who may have been THE man who invented the hang glider as we
know it today. John taught both Bill Moyes and Bill Bennett
to fly “ski kites” as they were then called. Moyes went on to become a major brand
name. Bill Bennett once directed a leading company that gave Bob Wills his start
in the business. Without John Dickenson, we might not have gotten modern hang gliders
as soon|or maybe at all! Who knows? John tells a great
tale about how he happened into this endeavor. A water ski club, of which John became
a member, planned their annual event and “assigned” John the duty of building and
flying a towed kite. They were thinking of a flat kite or some variation. But early
in 1963, John saw photos of Francis Rogallo’s work. From January when the
club made their request to November when the event occurred, Dickenson developed
an airframe for Rogallo’s wing design and added a version of the control bar we accept
as standard today. He even filed a patent for the invention way back in 1963. His
total cost: $24. John added many other facts I found fascinating but which
are too numerous to present here. For a more complete account of the Dickenson
story go to www.bchpa.org/newsletter/may04/hghistory.htm
John mentioned that the British Hang Gliding Association (BHPA now) gave him a free
lifetime membership in recognition of his ground-breaking work to develop the modern
hang glider. Other nations have also honored John but the U.S. — arguably the biggest
benefactor of his work — has never formally recognized his formative work. Perhaps
it’s time we changed that? For a minor annual expenditure, USHGA might provide John
with a complimentary membership. It seems a small gesture for a man whose work has
given so many of us so much pleasure.
One glaringly obvious missing element in the festivities was Bill Bennett.
As reported here last month, Bill perished in a trike accident in early October.
He was reportedly pursuing lessons and had taken the front seat after a few flights
in the rear. Details will surely follow but hang gliding has clearly lost one its
true pioneers. For pilots with some memory, “Uncle Bill,” as he was affectionately
known to many, was one of the first brand names they knew. Delta Wing Kites
was a leader for many years and Bill’s company released numerous essential products.
The gliders developed rapidly in those early days and Delta Wing was right in the
forefront. However, as Bill came from a tow-flying orientation, he also sold tow
equipment and floats. His company was one of the first to promote “back-up parachutes,”
and he offered the first commercial powered back-pack power setup of which I’m aware.
Beside his technical developments for hang gliding, he was also one the sport’s genuine
characters, always with a quick smile and a joke. Most would agree he was one
of a kind! Bill, we’ll miss you.
Well, it was after all a Moyes reunion. Moyes USA sponsored the event in concert
with Wallaby Ranch. Naturally, Ken put plenty of pilots on demo Moyes gliders. A
Doodlebug flew many times and, of course, the Dragonflys did the towing —
all are Moyes (or Bailey/Moyes) products. Ken was pleased with the results as he
took orders at the event and believes he’ll see more in the weeks ahead. Together
with Wallaby, Ken and his wife did a bang-up job with the event and all 350
or so attendees had a terrific time.
Even though it was a Moyes reunion — and perhaps as a sign of our growing maturity
as an industry — A.I.R. man Felix Ruhle showed up with four of his still-quite-new
ATOS VX designs. Felix reports about 45 VXs are flying, but it was the first time
I saw one live. What a beautiful construction, from its compound leading edge to
its cascading spoilerons to its shapely all-carbon control bar to its high-tech leading
edge junction hidden under a nose cone. VX is built big for tandem flying with a
46 foot span, 172 square feet of area, and 92 pounds of empty weight.
My tandem flight with Ruhle proved to be an excellent way to check out a new
wing. Felix gave tips about operation while skying out in decent thermals. When I
took over the controls, I didn’t squeeze as much out of it, but I did credibly well|enough
so that following lunch at the Ranch, I took up Malcolm’s new specially configured
VX for an solo flight. In a word: impressive! Nice job, Felix and crew.
The ATOS effort has been a solid one over the years. Ruhle reports selling 980
ATOSs since the first one went out the door. Given their lofty prices, this is
an enviable sales record for a new kind of hang glider wing. The tandem-capable VX
is priced at 12,500 euros, which at today’s exchange rates is about $15,600,
a rather wide gap from flex wings at something over $6,000, but this VX a different
bird altogether and you have to pay for technology this high. While I enjoyed free
flying the wing, I admit I looked at the VX as a soaring trike wing, given
it’s capacity to carry almost 500 pounds of load (Felix said A.I.R. is also pursuing
use of the VX on nanotrikes). It appears as well suited for that use as it is for
big pilots or tandem operations. I feel sure you’ll hear more about ATOS VX in the
months ahead.
So, got news or opinions? Send ’em to: 8 Dorset, St. Paul MN 55118. Messages or fax
to 651-450-0930. E-mail to Dan@ByDanJohnson.com. THANKS!