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I consider myself very lucky to have been around during the birth of hang gliding in the UK, and can remember a little of who did what, why and when. However, whenever I visit a hang glider web site it amazes me just how different and inaccurate other people seem to remember details and events of that era, as some sites seem to describe it quite differently. In fact I get the distinct impression that there are those out there who strongly believe that just because they were around at the time, they invented it. When in actual fact the so-called modern flexwing hang glider as we all know it, goes back to 1963 and an Australian John Dickenson. Coupled to this there are also those who would like to change history so that they might benefit from its miss representation, financially and egotistically. Even talking to some of the pioneer’s one would think that you would be getting a true account of what actually happened during those early days, but even this is sometimes a little clouded, because in a few cases legend is already starting to take over from fact. It becomes a case of if somebody says something enough times, in the end they will start to believe it themselves. As an example of how history can be changed, take one of Britain’s old legends a character known as Dick Turpin. Our young children now portray him as a good guy as they play. When in actual fact he was nothing but a highwayman and a cold-blooded murder.

How strange that so many people who were all involved in a brand new sport never bothered to keep accurate details of dates and times. Reading other peoples web sites I’m forever coming cross the wording “it was around 1973-74”. I guess I almost drop into that very same category. However, I do have letters to and from Television stations and Ken Messenger to at least pin point a date for myself. Having said all that, there are still many so called gentlemen out there who are as honest as the day they were born. Len Gabriels springs to mind. When I first made contact with Len about this article, his first words were I did not invent anything to do with hang gliding. He might not have invented the hang glider, but along with a few other UK manufactures he sure as hell helped developed it in to the safe sport it has become today. I take my hat off to Len for being so honest. I guess I should also clear the deck and take this opportunity to also add that neither did I invent anything to do with hang gliding. However, I did enjoy a fantastic time flying some of those early machines that were manufactured by Len and others like him. And I’m guessing that Len had the same excitement manufacturing them for us as we did flying them.

Being around during the birth of two new aviation sports has turned out to be an amazing time of my life, and something I would not have missed for the world. I guess I must have been different to most around me, because I saved absolutely everything I could get my hands on that involved hang gliding and microlighting of the Trike variety, at one time it filled a very large cardboard box. Sadly when I left England in 1985 I only grabbed a handful of that memorabilia the remainder I gave to a friend. I have since learnt that it’s been hand around the hang gliding fraternity in Suffolk, and I’m not sure where it is now or what has survived. However, I do know that it would have been very handy at this moment in time, to assist in this project.

Having read an account of how John Dickenson from Grafton in N.S.W. Australia invented the modern flexwing hang glider and to seeing all of the written proof of his claim, as well as talking personally to people who were involved in the very first flight at Grafton during the towns Jacaranda Festival in 1963, I have completely changed my point of view concerning the hang glider. I also found it very interesting just how much original written information had actually survived. This is just as well, because once these pioneers and their close friends pass on, that information will sadly be lost forever. It’s also worth mentioning that the very first flight of the Dickenson Wing was taken by Rod Fuller and the boat was piloted by Pat Crowe. If you think that Rod has a great story to tell of his very first flight, it pales into insignificant's compared to the extraordinary tale Pat has to tell, having to control the boat and protect Rod from disaster, as he nearly flew into a bridge. Which can and I hope will be told later.

In 1964 John Dickenson responded to a request from NASA in the USA for information on his invention. Dickenson forwarded detailed plans of his Mark III wing to NASA. Unfortunately the NASA representative he communicated with claimed much of the credit for the invention. This correspondence, and the plans, are available for inspection at John Dickenson's website

There are indications that the plans John Dickenson sent to NASA were then distributed with a NASA employees name attached to them. That these wings were named after a person who invented no part of them is one of the great scandals of aviation history.

John Dickenson unfortunately trusted NASA , and the breach of this trust meant that for 40 years most people had no idea who really had invented this wing. Not only did this cause harm to John Dickenson's reputation, it denied the fledgling sport the benefit of John Dickenson's knowledge of the wing.

NASA had been experimenting for years with the Lee and Darrah airfoil, but in spite of spending 27 million dollars on research and development of the concept, they were unable to design a single successful aircraft using this airfoil. Claiming the credit for the hang glider seems to have been a way of justifying what was otherwise an expensive and futile effort.

I found the John Dickenson story a very interesting subject and being a hang glider man myself. It started me wondering as to how it spread around the world and so far my research has come up with a few starling surprises. The first of which is that, of all the major so-called western countries around the world, it seems that the UK was one of its last ports of call.

‘Catch The Wind’ by Glenn Woodard (Australia) was published in 1977 in which he documented the development of the modern hang glider and included the part that John Dickenson's wing played in its development. It’s a fascinating book that’s well written and is certainly worth a read, that’s if you can find a copy. At the moment they seem to be as scarce as hen’s teeth.

23rd May 1971, the Otto Lilienthal Anniversary Hang Glider meet was held in Southern California. This event attracted enthusiasts from all over the area, and really caught the public‘s imagination. One of the heroes of the day was Tom Dickinson, who managed to stay aloft in free flight for a quarter of a minute, covering a distance of over 300ft. This event was later covered by several magazines around the world including the 'National Geographic' and I believe is responsible for the amazing interest in flying that took place in those countries during the early 1970's. The meet attracted well over fifty pilots, and is sometimes regarded by many as the starting point of hang gliding as we know it today. (This is certainly the American view but it is more accurately the end of the old type of hang gliding.)

Terry Aspinall July 2008