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http://www.wright-brothers.org/History_ ... y_Hawk.htm
Contrast the "cronkite" and the bamboo bombers that I watched at Torrance Beach in 1970, flown by beach boys and surfers in the afternoon breezes, just for fun. The evolution of those early gliders to what they are today was so "pure", and even today 49 years later, the Re-Creation and fun aspect of it has not changed one bit. The Wright Brothers (and others) spent months and years building and testing their gliders, where as David Cronk (who graduated middle school 100 yards from Torrance Beach) and Dick Eiper, and others, just for fun, in their back yards, were able in no time also fly into history. (And South Bay being a premier aircraft and sailing spot....well...The rest is history.
The collapsible wing gliders don't have much of the same evolution of "elegant" design and piloting, they're still just basic parachutes, with a bunch of "strings" to pull on.
I was lucky enough to be sitting next to the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, on the day man first stepped foot on the moon.
The Big Blue Sky is Back on my watching list today.
Craig Muhonen
