KEEPING IT SIMPLE
The dreams of the first pilots were simple. They just wanted to get in the air and float, to defy gravity for a few seconds before landing. Talking to Steve Pearson for this issue’s article about Wills Wing I was reminded of that. The early pioneers were just using the materials they had to make lightweight wings that could help them fly. It was that simple. From experimental bunny-hops on bamboo gliders in 1971 to Larry Tudor flying 303 miles (487km) on a Wills Wing HP-AT in 1990 took less than a generation. A similar thing can be said for paragliding: from first ram-air parachute flights in 1978 to the first 500km flight in 2008. Looking around in the landing field at the Coupe Icare in September I was struck by how…