About – The Rogallo Foundation

Our Purpose

Stimulate and support research and education in aerodonetics the science of gliding and soaring flight and low speed aerodynamics.

Encourage literary efforts and publications advancing aerodonetics and low-speed aerodynamics.

Support educational opportunities involving aerodonetics and low-speed aerodynamics.

Preserve and exhibit artifacts associated with the use of aerodonetics and low-speed aerodynamics.

Promote outdoor recreational flying sites and opportunities with Federal, State, and local land management agencies.

Francis and Gertrude Rogallo

Francis Rogallo is recognized for pioneering the concept of the “flexible” wing, which played a key role in the evolution of aerial sports such as hang gliding and kiteboarding.

In 1948, Francis and Gertrude Rogallo enjoyed the first successful flight of their flexible wing, a revolutionary aero concept that was constructed from Gertrude’s kitchen curtains and developed from research conducted in their in-house, homemade wind tunnel. This remarkable invention was a wing with no rigid members that creates an airfoil shape when flying and generates lift similar to a rigid airfoil. This incredible invention led to hang gliders, paragliders, kites, stunt kites, and revolutionized parachutes. Based on the Rogallo invention, millions of people around the world have been introduced to the pleasures, adventures, and challenges of aviation.

The Rogallo Foundation was created in 1992 and its mission is to:

Honor the Rogallos
Preserve their priceless records, artifacts, and research
Interpret their incredible story
Protect this legacy of free flight for millions of people in all the Nations of the world.

Collections and Artifacts

Francis and Gertrude Rogallo have saved and stored a large number of items that were used in various experimental developments of the flexible wing concept.

Following the invention and patenting of the wing, the Federal government expressed interest in the concept. Rogallo was involved in a number of government projects in which the flexible wing served as the basis for experiments in powered and unpowered aircraft, landing cargo and vehicles, and returning spacecraft to earth.

A wealth of artifacts accumulated over the years of personal and governmental experiments could, if catalogued and readily available for study, serve historians, experimenters, engineers, and enthusiasts. The Rogallo flexible wing has had an enormous influence on low speed aviation.

What further breakthroughs await humanity in this realm of flight resulting from the evaluation and study of these artifacts? The Rogallo Foundation, through its membership and gift programs, can help you express your interest in preserving, protecting, cataloguing, and researching these priceless artifacts.