http://www.jitterbuzz.com/bill_tribute.html
Bill Effinger
William
William Effinger, Jr and his alter ego Bill Berkeley
William L. Effinger, Jr.
Flex-wing hang glider progress would not be complete without a robust appreciation of Bill Effinger.
Anyone? Patents? Other?
http://www.airplanesandrockets.com/airp ... odeler.htm May-June 1963 American Modeler.
Effinger is in the mix in several of the 12 or more big rivers that moved the 1960 seed of the HG renaissance into ever-growing motions. He was in the patent flow. He was in the modelers' flow. He was in the Ryan flow. He saw the influence of Rogallo and NASA, but wanted Wanner not to be missed.
Explore Effinger to see more of our flex-wing roots.
On topic: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kitepatents/message/789
A telling set of statements in paper-print article May-June 1963, Effinger wrote:
For me it started two years ago when A. C. Gilbert's new products planners wanted a glider kite with some form of power for maneuverability.
Here was a challenge that could not be met with orthodox design. Henry Struck and I kicked around ideas for several weekends. Being old balsa butchers, we knew that there were several approaches that offered possibilities, but the weight of ready-to-fly plastic models was the big drawback.
The NASA flexible wing experiments using a flex-wing in combination with a "Custom Cavalier" made us consider this possibility.
Here was a challenge that could not be met with orthodox design. Henry Struck and I kicked around ideas for several weekends. Being old balsa butchers, we knew that there were several approaches that offered possibilities, but the weight of ready-to-fly plastic models was the big drawback.
The NASA flexible wing experiments using a flex-wing in combination with a "Custom Cavalier" made us consider this possibility.