- Barry Hill Palmer
Barry Hill Palmer (b.
Nov 10 ,1937 ) is an American aeronautical engineer (UC Berkeley, 1961), inventor, builder and pilot of the first hang glider based on theRogallo wing or "flexible wing". Palmer also designed, built and flew the first weight-shiftultralight trike aircraft.Inventor of a Flexible Wing hang glider
On August 1961 Barry Palmer first saw a photo of the
Rogallo wing mounted on theFleep experimental aircraft published in the Aviation Week magazine and became interested in this flexible wing because of its light weight and simplicity. [ August 14, 1961 byAviation Week & Space Technology magazine.] In October 1961 he completed construction and flew the first flexible wing hang glider; this took place near Latrobe, east ofSacramento, California . [His first hang glider cost him only $10.89 USD. Article by Barry H. Palmer published in February 1969 by "Sport Aviation" magazine. Barry Palmer’s web site, dated photos: [http://members.aol.com/hiitec/kite/trike.html] .] He usedpolyethylene sheet, aluminum tubing and no wires for construction as he did fear kinking during assembly and transport. Most flights were performed with just a set of inclined parallel bars that split his weight between his underarms and hands to experiment with the center of gravity and thus he demonstrated that theRogallo wing , when used as a hang glider, could also be controlled by shifting weight alone. Palmer, who built the first modern-age foot launched hang glider, is not yet mentioned by the FAI.[
Richard Miller flying his new "Bamboo Butterfly" hang glider. Vista Del Mar. California,
1966 .] Palmer experimented with about 8 different hang glider versions and their wings were mostly 90 degree swept back wings. His smallest glider weighed 24 lbs. and had a surface area of 205 ft2. The flexibility in the frame caused no performance problems. Hist first and largest hang glider was about 45 pounds and had a surface area of 342 ft2. Palmer explored control of his several versions of hang gliders by using differentcontrol frame s: pilot in front of the control frame, pilot behind the control frame, and control frame in front of the pilot in a swing seat, which inadvertently approximated theGeorge A. Spratt mechanism from 1929. NASA’sParesev glider came to light after Palmer’s gliding flights, so it bore no influence on him.During the period from 1961 to 1963 Barry Palmer made tens of flights using the
Rogallo wing concept. His flights were usually 110 meters (120 yards) long and his longest flight was about 180 meters (590 ft). He flew at altitudes up to 24 meters (80 ft). His best glider had an overallglide ratio of 4.5 to 1 at the speed of 29-32 Km/h (18-20 miles/h). The last of Palmer’s hang gliders flew in the summer of 1963 and it had a single point suspension ski-lift type of seat mounted to the keel with auniversal joint ; the seat could be forced fore and aft, and laterally, but allowed for no twisting of the seat relative to the wing due to lateral stick movement. That is why a single control stick could be used to replace the control frame.Palmer relates that he had a good paying
aerospace job at the time and he was flying on a minimalist and inexpensive glider purely for curiosity and fun. He did not attempt to modernize or market the flexible wing hang glider; there was no attempt to publicize on the media, except for an 'accidental' report made by a small local .Inventor of the
ultralight trike aircraftIn March 1967 aeronautical engineer Barry Palmer built and flew the first true weight-shift powered
ultralight trike aircraft: the "Paraplane" (FAA Registered N7144) [Palmer’s trike: [http://members.aol.com/hiitec/kite/trike.html] ] and it was controlled by a single vertical control bar. The Paraplane used two West Bend-Chrysler 820 engines (8hp at 6000rpm, reduced to 4700rpm for about 6.5hp each, for a total of 13hp). Each engine had a direct drive to a 27in diameter two-blade propeller made of polyester & fiberglass. On March 24th, 1967 Palmer registered the trike at the AmericanFAA as the "Palmer Parawing D-6", serial 1A, N7144; No restrictions were noted.The second Palmer trike, the "Skyhook" (FAA registered N4411) in spite of its early date of origin, had most of the attributes of a modern ultralight trike, except it used a single cylinder
snowmobile engine, as the two-stroke twin cylinders were not available yet. It was powered by a 17hp at 5000rpm single cylinder JLO L297 two stroke engine, driving a composite propeller designed and built by Palmer himself and driven by a 2.1/1 reduction gearbox. The engine had electric start and the craft had fiberglass composite spring landing gear. Theairframe consisted of bolted 6061-T6 aluminum tube, with 6061 T-6 extruded angle. The craft took off, flew, and landed at about 30mph. [Barry H. Palmer’s web site: [http://members.aol.com/hiitec/kite/trike.html] ] Palmer’s trikes were not developed further and remained in obscurity. Rolland Magallon from France is sometimes thought to have invented theultralight trike aircraft because it was Magallon who first marketed it from October 1979 through 1981.Palmer moved on to design a successful line of personalhovercraft . [Sevtec hovercraft [http://members.aol.com/sevtec/sev/skmr.html] ]References
See also
*
History of hang gliding
* History of ultralight trikes
* John DickensonExternal references
*Print: ‘’Hang Gliding & Paragiding’’ magazine. April, 2005. Published by the United States Hang Gliding & Paragliding Association (
USHPA ).
*Barry H. Palmer’s web site: [http://members.aol.com/hiitec/kite/trike.html]
*Video of B. Palmer's first flights in 1961 loaded in YouTube: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sswv4WUi0aY]
*A-frame for hang gliders, trikes, and ultralights
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