Francis Rogallo

Francis Melvin Rogallo ( born January 27, 1912 in Sanger, California, † 1 September 2009 in Southern Shores, Dare County, North Carolina) was an American aerodynamicist. Rogallo was named by the development and patenting of flexible wings, also Rogallo wing, known after the Second World War.

Work

While after his famous patent initially only a toy manufacturing company flexible kite, he was associated with the ambitious Raumfahrtpojekten the United States in 1960 finally head of a research program at NASA and worked there until the early 1970s, especially with the development and testing of flexible, to during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere self-expanding wings.

This was based ultimately in a patent by his wife, Gertrude, and he set out in 1948 conceptual ideas to existing only in fabric and cords flexible wings ( see also paraglider ). Significant difference from the likewise consisting only of fabric and cords then round canopy parachutes were among others achieved by the different shape gliding properties of its devices.

In addition to the known become " Rogallo " triangle shape, the patent also included a description of a second basic shape, wherein the " open to the front fabric tubes disposed parallel to one another and the air stream is inflated forming a bearing surface ." While with Rogallo umbrellas extensive experiments followed in practice, such screens for specific purposes ( eg as a rescue parachutes ) are still in use and this umbrella concept, ultimately, the base for itself in the air unfolding dragons proven NASA with tons of heavy loads, and represents the basic form of today's hang gliders, concrete implementation of the second idea of Rogallo themselves are not known. However, their theoretical basis found their way into later patents: After settlement and release of the Rogallo patent by NASA in 1964 took place on October 1, 1964 Domina Jalbert registering a corresponding box or mattress -shaped multicellular parachute concept ( parafoil ), with whom he on a own patent of a special multi-cell parachute from 1 January 1963 but it is built on Rogallo ideas. All of today's parachutes and paragliders based on this principle of Jalbert, so Rogallo, such undoubtedly are incidental to its key role in the history of hang glider, also in their history.

In the early 1960s Dornier attacked the idea under the name Project 621 and wanted a reusable sounding rocket, which called on a Rogallo wing, also Parawing, should return to Earth, realize. Various patterns of the wing were built and tested before the program was discontinued in 1965.