John Wallace Dickenson (born 22 January 1934) is an Australian inventor, who developed some liquid flow measuring devices and designed a successful

hang glider 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 cover ...

configuration, for which he was awarded with the ''Gold Air Medal'', the highest award given by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, the world governing body for air sports, aeronautics and astronautics world records.

Ski kite

Paresev 1-B in Tow Flight - GPN-2000-000212

In 1963, after seeing an image of a

Rogallo wing The Rogallo wing is a flexible type of wing. In 1948, Francis Rogallo, a NASA engineer, and his wife Gertrude Rogallo, 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 (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

kite that could be released at altitude for a glide to a safe drop in the water, thus designed and built a water skiing kite wing he called the ''Ski Kite''. His ski kite format incorporated an airframe with a triangle control frame as used in hang gliding in Breslau 1908. having a basebar tow-point and was integrated on an all-ready publicized four-boom stiffened

airfoil, 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 A kite is a tethered heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create lift and drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. Kites often have a bridle and tail to guide the fac ...

s used at

water ski Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffi ...

shows. The Ski Wing was first flown in public at the ' Grafton Jacaranda Festival',

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, in September 1963 by Rod Fuller while towed behind a

motorboat A motorboat, speedboat or powerboat is a boat that is exclusively 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 gea ...

. The ski kite he now called Ski Wing, was light and portable, so Dickenson decided to file for a mechanical 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.

Hang gliders

Half scale prototype

Produced in 1963

Mark I

Produced on 8 September 1963. Features: * Wing: biconical flexible wing * Keel and leading edge length: * Keel and leading edge: rigid * Cross bar: rigid * Control type: pendulum weight shift * Pendulum attachment: single line * Control bar: square frame * Pilot support: seat * Side wires: 8 Materials: * Wing surface: banana bag plastic * Leading edge and keel : 1 ½ inch wood, Oregon douglas fir * Cross bar:"cross bar was a length of T.V. antenna, with a length of turned wood jammed into it to give it the required strength" * Leading edge attachment:'D-section' wood and nails * Cable: clothesline wire

Mark I with A-frame

Produced in September 1963.
Change: control A-frame added.
1963 October – Flown at the Jacaranda Festival in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia.
1963 Oct 11 – Provisional patent filed.

Mark II

Produced in January 1964.
Changes: All aluminium frame, leading edge and keel.
Length:

Mark III

Produced in March 1964.
Changes: Back to wooden leading edge and keel.
Leading edge and keel length <

Mark IV

Produced in November 1964.
Changes: sewn sail.
Diagrams of this sent to

Francis Rogallo Francis Melvin Rogallo (January 27, 1912 – September 1, 2009) was an American aeronautical engineer inventor born in Sanger, California, U.S. Together with his wife, he is credited with the invention of the Rogallo wing, or "flexible w ...

at NASA.
In 1965, John leaves Grafton for Sydney.

Mark V

Produced between 1967 – 1968.
Changes: built by ''Aero Structures''.
1969 April – Bill Moyes at NSW, Australia sets ridge soaring record at 32 minutes. Australia.

Legacy

Dickenson's 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 to the extent that any global mechanical claim for invention would be untenable. In the aviation context of 'first flights' and recreational vs. commercial developments, new and old inventions often complement in synergy; it is in this evolutionary and social context that the crucial developments put together John Dickenson, were the ones that were most successful and influential on the evolution of hang gliders. John Dickenson was a ski-kite pilot; he never foot-launched a hang glider.

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 Internationale ''Hang Gliding Diploma'' (2006) for the invention of the modern hang glider. *The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale ''Gold Air Medal'' (2012). *

Oswald Watt Gold Medal The Oswald Watt Gold Medal is an Australian aviation award named for Oswald Watt (1878–1921), a decorated pilot in World War I. It originated in 1921 after the death of Oswald Watt and is awarded for "A most brilliant performance in the air or t ...

(2012) *"Flex-Wing Hang Glider Gold Air Award" by the World Hang Gliding Association (2013)

References

External links

*Video: *Video: . ''NASA Destination- Tomorrow'', segment explaining the history of the flexible wing and of the hang glider. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dickenson, John W. Living people 1934 births 20th-century Australian inventors Hang gliding Members of the Order of Australia