[JoeF]

As ARP (Tony Prentice) is a US Hawk, it is game to have a Flying Prentices topic thread! There is considerable neat history that could make this thread robust.

At age 13 in 1960 Tony designed and built a flexwing stiffened hang glider with non-stick cockpit. More on that later! Or see other post somewhere that features that historical event! The wing was not NASA inspired.

Rather, my first post here will be on a current reflection by Tony on a splat mitigation for the nose. For similar mitigate as you can read on the image, we on this side of the pond commercialized a metal wrapping nose plate that did not easily catch on the ground; but the basebar legs were still a challenge (wheels someone mitigated some of the whack energy).

1973 history photo and note written on June 13, 2012: Welcome to the forum Tony.

[SamKellner]

: Welcome to the forum Tony.

Absolutely It is an honor to be hanging with the caliber/experience. Thanks for the work done in the early years, '60s, '70s.

Beautiful pics of the Otto type glider.

IMO, we are so lucky to live in this day and technology that allows us manned birdflight.

Welcome to US Hawks

,
Sam

[ARP]

Thank you for the welcome Sam and kind words.

Starting with bamboo and old shirting material did not provide gliders with much performance. Much of the lift was lost through the porosity of the sail and it wasn't until rip stop nylon was used that things improved. We did find that if it rained and the shirting got wet the lift increased allowing better flights to be made.

The glider in the picture had a sail cut from a military surplus cargoe parachute. Although nylon, it was still porous and had an aluminium airframe with cable bracing. Bamboo has a good strength to weight ratio but being a natural material it is not easy to get in regular sizes. It also has a tendency to split when subject to climatic changes. I did start using a glass fibre tissue with resin to cover poles which helped. Lilienthal used mainly willow in his gliders as it was both cheap and plentiful but not as strong as bamboo. Pilcher used mainly bamboo in the construction of his gliders.

Just behind the sail can be seen a sailplane model using the same slope lift. It is pretty close and such conflict in the use of airspace still goes on the few site available in the UK.

Tony

[JoeF]

Another Tony Prentice hang glider shows up from the depths of collections. Just in 2015, an unknown-to-Tony-Prentice photo appears. The photo shows one of his hang gliders, not his earliest, made in the 1960s in his teen years.
http://www.energykitesystems.net/hgh/pr ... entice.jpg

Click through to be sure to see the full craft.