Wills Wing, Inc. (legally Sport Kites, Inc) is an American

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology ind ...

based in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many oth ...

and previously located in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana () is the second most populous city and the county seat of Orange County, California. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census, making Santa Ana the 13th-m ...

. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of

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 covered ...

s in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft, plus hang glider harnesses and accessories.Bertrand, Noel; Rene Coulon; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2003-04'', page 47. Pagefast Ltd, Lancaster UK, 2003. The company was founded in 1973 by brothers Bob and Chris Wills. The company sells a line of hang gliders including training and beginner gliders, intermediate and competition wings.

History

The company was formed as Sport Kites, Inc in 1973 and started doing business under the name ''Wills Wing'' in 1978. In 1973 Chris Wills took first place and Bob Wills won second place in the first US National Hang Gliding Championships. The next year Bob Wills won first place and Chris Wills took second place at the second US Nationals. Chris and Bob Wills' brother, Eric Wills, was killed in a hang gliding accident in 1974. Chris Wills left the company in 1976 to attend medical school and pursue a career as a

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

. Bob Wills was killed in a hang gliding accident while making a

Jeep Jeep is an American automobile marque, now owned by multi-national corporation Stellantis. Jeep has been part of Chrysler since 1987, when Chrysler acquired the Jeep brand, along with remaining assets, from its previous owner American Motors ...

commercial on 24 June 1977. The majority ownership of the company was then sold to Rob Kells, Linda and Mike Meier and Steve Pearson. Kells died of

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

in 2008. By 1984 the company had become the largest hang glider manufacturer in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

and then later in the world. The company also provides Wills Wing U2 and T2 gliders to

Tecma Sport Tecma Sport is a French aircraft manufacturer based in Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny and formerly in La Roche-sur-Foron. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of hang gliders and paragliders in the form of ready-to-fly aircraft. The ...

of Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for the European market. A Wills Wing XC-185 hang glider is on display at the

Canada Aviation and Space Museum The Canada Aviation and Space Museum (french: link=no, Musée de l'Aviation et de l'Espace du Canada) (formerly the Canada Aviation Museum and National Aeronautical Collection) is Canada's national aviation history museum. The museum is locate ...

, in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

, while another Wills Wing glider is in the US Southwest Soaring Museum in Moriarty, New Mexico. Wills Wing XC-185 hang glider

In 2012 Wills Wing Team Pilot Dustin Martin set a new world record for Cross Country Open Distance in a Hang Glider of 475 miles flying a Wills Wing T2C 144. In June, 2021 Wills Wing announced that they will be "winding down operations and preparing to shut down production at our Orange facility as part of a process of closing down the Company" with a "successor entity" to be formed in Valle do Bravo, Mexico.

Aircraft

List of aircraft built by Wills Wing: ;Hang gliders ;Current Production * Wills Wing Alpha * Wills Wing Falcon * Wills Wing Sport 3 * Wills Wing U2/U2C * Wills Wing T2/T2C ;Out of Production * Wills Wing Alpha(Original) * Wills Wing Attack Duck * Wills Wing Condor * Wills Wing Duck * Wills Wing Fusion * Wills Wing Harrier * Wills Wing HP * Wills Wing HP AT * Wills Wing Omega * Wills Wing Omni * Wills Wing RamAir * Wills Wing Raven * Wills Wing Skyhawk * Wills Wing Spectrum * Wills Wing Sport * Wills Wing Sport American * Wills Wing Sport AT *Wills Wing Sport 2 * Wills Wing SST * Wills Wing Super Sport * Wills Wing Talon * Wills Wing Ultra Sport * Wills Wing XC * Wills Wing Eagle ;Paragliders * Wills Wing AT 123 * Wills Wing AT 223

References

External links

* {{Wills Wing aircraft Aircraft manufacturers of the United States Hang gliders Paragliders Manufacturing companies established in 1973 1973 establishments in California