Dear Ashley,
Our missing him cannot measure to yours. Peace to you.
Some notes on his hang gliding:
1. He seems to have been the first in the modern hang gliding renaissance to have used Dockweiler Beach with a Rogallo hang glider of four-boom make and use (closely) of the triangle control frameworks (but adapted for Jim's immediate foot-lauch-type use) as found earlier in NASA-related John Worth's constructions for NASA, but Jim's into footlaunch recreational sport hang gliding in 1962. For such we hail him as a top pioneer in the sport of hang gliding.
He shared his project in an episode of Lawrence Welk Show. I have not seen the episode, but it is available to be seen in archives in Los Angeles or Hollywood area. It would be neat if clips could be had of that episode made into stills and posted on the Internet; your connections might achieve that and posted perhaps for the world in YouTube; he deserves to be more known for such priority. Perhaps enlarged stills could show at the memorial for Jim's friends and family.
2. His project was with one photo in Sport Aviation of the Experimental Aircraft Association in 1962 in one of their issues. I clipped from the magazine and have shown that photo.
We do not know the backyard...apparently with pool, that had that photo taken. Maybe you can confirm that address.
2. We have no photographs of Jim, but are hoping his scrapbook....that he had... still exists. And we hope he or his friends or family had taken photos of his hang gliding pursuits.
3. My total information and image collection is being posted in the topic thread at US Hawks:
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1185 which you may view and use in any way you wish.
4. You may or may not have recognized, that the memorial planned is on Otto Lilienthal's birthday, for us very special and appropriate for how we see Jim's pioneering inputs to modern foot launch hang gliding.
Otto Lilienthal
Otto Lilienthal was a German pioneer of aviation who became known as the Glider King. He was the first person to make well-documented, repeated, successful gliding flights. Wikipedia
Born: May 23, 1848, Anklam
Died: August 10, 1896, Berlin
Spouse: Agnes Fischer
Siblings: Gustav Lilienthal
5. I am herein copying four leaders in the modern sport of hang gliding. Two are especially focused on historical matters. One is our flying-site saint and steward of the site where Jim inaugurated his test flying at Dockweiler Beach. And one is an aeronautical engineer and founder of U.S. Hawks. Joe Greblo was given some materials from Jim; and Jim last visited our hang gliding scene by visiting Joe Greblo in Sylmar, CA, but less than two years ago.
6. Anything that we may know of Jim through you will be treasured. We wish to help carry his positive legacy into the annals of hang glding history. Jim visited my hang gliding publishing office many times in the first couple years of the 1970s.
Soon,
Best to you, Ashley,
Sincerely,
Joe Faust
