Trailer for a documentary yet to be released (as per June 2026).

Chapter 6Building the Myth

Hang gliding and paragliding, and all those other wings, stunt kites flying, the kites we used for kite boarding, sport parachuting, Mr Rogallo’s work and his invention was really the origin of all that. He was like royalty, you know, in the hang gliding community. I mean, he was a god.
Ralf Buxton ##

Rogallo was the first builder of his myth. In his post-NASA years, with the explosion of hang gliding as a sport, he always claimed that the modern hang glider was his legacy. In later years, he added the modern ram-air multi-cell parachutes and paragliders to it.

The myth was first told and promoted in the USA. The rest of the world followed blindly.

Sections

The Curtain Kites tale is a good example of how Rogallo changed his storyline over the years – before, during, and after his stay at NASA – to perpetuate the myth that he is the father of everything, and how the myth took off from there. (btm-01)
Section 6.1The Elusive Curtain kites
In 1975, NASA produced From Kites to Wings, a 4-minute 31-second documentary. (btm-02) This film is of particular significance. When Rogallo claimed he invented the modern hang glider shown in the NASA film, he knew he was lying and deceiving the world. Eleven years earlier, Rogallo had been alerted that John Dickenson was flying a modern hang glider of Dickenson’s own design. He was sent a newspaper clipping, with photos, of Dickenson’s glider flying at the Jacaranda Festival in Grafton. After contacting Dickenson, Dickenson sent him 12 pages of plans and instructions. They described minutely the very glider that Rogallo now claimed as his own.
Section 6.2The Ultimate Lie
In 1956, NACA Air Scoop newsletter presented Rogallo. It did not mention him as a Doctor or Professor. Nor did any further publication by NACA or NASA, including when The Langley Researcher announced, in 1963, the $35,000 cash award that NASA gave him.
Section 6.3Doctor or Professor?
In the American media, both hang gliding and the modern hang glider were presented as having been invented in the USA. The magazines relied on the stories they were told. They were never told the truth, and they never questioned what they were told.
Section 6.4In America
Bill Bennett and Bill Moyes were both introduced to the Dickenson Glider through their involvement in the water ski scene.
Section 6.5The Australians
In the rest of the world, the myth kept growing. The disregard for historic facts, if only for a correct timeline, was impressive. The modern hang glider was just a Rogallo, maybe with a Bennett/Moyes control system. Dickenson was totally ignored. (btm-15)
Section 6.6Here and There
In 1975, after a survey led by British Ann Welch, then Vice-President of the World Airsports Federation (FAI), the International Hang Gliding Committee (CIVL) became part of the FAI. The first president was Dan Poynter, the Secretary Harry Robb, both from the USA.
Section 6.7The FAI Rogallo Class
In 1988, the FAI 8th Hang Gliding World Championships were held in Mount Buffalo, New South Wales, Australia. The championships were organised by Bill Moyes, who invited Francis Rogallo to be the Guest of Honour. Bill also organised a filmed meeting with John Dickenson. It was the first and only time that Rogallo and Dickenson met. They were interviewed. They started a new short correspondence: four letters in six months.
Section 6.8Rogallo and Dickenson Meet and Correspond
In his NASA 1962 Technical note on Flexible Wing Research and Development, Rogallo claimed that the “Paraglider, Parawing, Flexikite, Flex-wing, Flight-sail, etc., or more broadly, the flexible-wing concept” were all Rogallo Wings. He also claimed that “other configurations” not yet considered “fall within the flexible-wing concept”, hence will be Rogallo Wings.
Section 6.9Who Invented the Modern Paraglider Wing?
We are amazed how deceits and lies keep fooling so many people. Our determination to deconstruct the Rogallo myth is only strengthened; the truth always wins in the end.
Section 6.10The Latest Documentaries
The Rogallo Foundation website states in June 2026: “Where Innovation Is in the Air – The Rogallo Foundation is passionate about preserving and sharing the history of Francis and Gertrude Rogallo, and the spirit of adventure and excitement that the applications of the flexible wing have inspired. These innovations led to the development of hang gliding, paragliding, flexible wing ultralighting, parachuting, kiteboarding, and kiting.”

See in page 6.9 Who Invented The Modern Paraglider Wing? for the ludicrous claim that Rogallo’s innovations led to the creation of any of these wings.
Section 6.11The Rogallo Foundation
Along the years, we contacted many institutions. Some answered favorably to our request to publish a truer history of hang gliding and paragliding (the Australian, British and French federations among them), other did not.
Section 6.12Today Institutions