Charles Richard was a design engineer, who designed the collapsible four-tube Rogallo wing used in the experimental

NASA Paresev The NASA Paresev ("Paraglider Research Vehicle") was an experimental NASA glider aircraft based upon the kite-parachute studies by NASA engineer Francis Rogallo. Between 1961 and 1965 the ability of the Rogallo wing (also called "Parawing") to ...

glider. The

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

configuration he created was used for manned hung-pilot kite-gliders and was to be found copied only with slight ornamental variation in a decade of hang gliders. Richards was of the Flight Research Center's Vehicle and System Dynamics Branch. The four-beamed wing folded from the noseplate; one of the beams was the spreader beam that kept the flexible-wing's sweep. Those in the following decade copying the Charles Richard wing configuration expanded kiting,

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

ultralight Ultralight aviation (called microlight aviation in some countries) is the flying of lightweight, 1- or 2-seat fixed-wing aircraft. Some countries differentiate between weight-shift control and conventional three-axis control aircraft with ailer ...

, and trike flight.

Timeline

* 1961 December : Charles Richard is given a directive from NASA's

Paul Bikle Paul F. Bikle (5 June 1916 – 19 January 1991) was director of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Facility from 1959 until 1971, and author of more than 40 technical publications. He was associat ...

to build quickly a cheap kite glider that could be used to give pilots practice in flying in free flight using simple weight-shifting that would change the attitude of the wing relative to the hung position of the pilot and payload. * 1962 February 12 : Charles Richard and his team completed a first kite-glider that achieved obtaining an

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

registration. Many versions followed first flight tests. * 2004 Charles Richard name was included in the space

Stardust (spacecraft) ''Stardust'' was a 385-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on 7 February 1999. Its primary mission was to collect dust samples from the coma of comet Wild 2, as well as samples of cosmic dust, and return them to Earth for analysis ...

chip. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Charles NASA people American aerospace engineers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)