1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,120 For centuries, man has dreamed of flying. 2 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:14,120 Early artists and inventors, including Leonardo da Vinci and Otto Lilienthal, drew sketches 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:18,680 and even built primitive hang gliders in the effort to soar with the birds. 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:24,720 In the 1940s, a pioneering young NASA researcher named Francis Regalo developed a new design 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,800 called the Flexible Wing. 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:31,400 This design was not only considered for use in the Gemini and Apollo space programs, but 7 00:00:31,400 --> 00:00:35,680 also spawned the birth of hang gliding as a recreational sport. 8 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:40,300 In the early 1960s, astronauts in the space program returned to Earth from space using 9 00:00:40,300 --> 00:00:42,880 parachutes deployed from a capsule. 10 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:46,960 These parachutes enabled the capsule to splash down into the ocean safely. 11 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:51,880 Although this proven technology was successful, NASA planners began looking for an alternative 12 00:00:51,880 --> 00:00:54,280 to the re-entry parachute. 13 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:58,320 Many at NASA felt that astronauts should have more control over a capsule, rather than 14 00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:00,400 just landing in the ocean. 15 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,560 In answer to this request, an inventive NASA researcher named Francis Regalo suggested 16 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:09,320 using his Flexible Wing, or paraglider, to complete the task. 17 00:01:09,320 --> 00:01:14,640 Aerodynamically, a flexible wing works like a rigid wing. 18 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,360 But structurally, it works like a parachute. 19 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:28,920 So it's that combination of a parachute-like structure with a rigid wing aerodynamic characteristics. 20 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,480 The paraglider idea was intriguing. 21 00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:35,520 Its diamond profile and flexible covering would deploy from the top of the spacecraft 22 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:40,880 and would fill with air to create drag, thus reducing the speed of the spacecraft. 23 00:01:40,880 --> 00:01:44,920 After the wing was deployed, it was designed to keep its shape with a series of tension 24 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:45,920 lines. 25 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:50,040 In theory, the astronauts would then be able to steer the spacecraft and touch down on 26 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:53,800 land rather than splashing down in the ocean. 27 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:57,720 Unbeknownst to the NASA planners, Regalo had already been working on the Flexible Wing 28 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:00,120 design for over 20 years. 29 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:04,560 Originally, Regalo had designed the Flexible Wing to be a low-cost vehicle that anyone 30 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:05,560 could use to fly. 31 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:12,320 One of our goals was to make it possible for anybody to fly, because I know in my case 32 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,280 I wanted to fly. 33 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:21,240 I tried to get in the Army Air Corps and the Navy Air Corps, and none of them wanted me. 34 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:28,280 And I thought, well, gee, and I didn't have the money to do it on my own. 35 00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:30,360 It was so expensive. 36 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:40,560 And so I had to find some way that anybody could do it with almost no money cost, and 37 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:41,560 I did. 38 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:46,640 Ironically, most of the work on this wing had not been done at NASA, but by Regalo and 39 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:48,080 his wife at their home. 40 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:52,600 In fact, the early models of the Flexible Wing were actually made from the Regalo's 41 00:02:52,600 --> 00:02:55,040 living room curtains. 42 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,160 Regalo's paraglider concept was tested in wind tunnels and flight tested at NASA for 43 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:04,780 over two years, but ultimately, the NASA planners decided to use the proven parachute reentry 44 00:03:04,780 --> 00:03:07,440 system over the paraglider. 45 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:12,080 Although NASA didn't use this idea for the space program, word began to spread about 46 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:14,120 this new lightweight wing. 47 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:20,360 By the early 1970s, Regalo's Flexible Wing had given birth to the new sport of hang gliding. 48 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:29,280 Humans have wanted to fly for hundreds of years, but they just weren't able to do it. 49 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:34,320 And now, anybody who wants to can do it. 50 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:42,880 It's simple and easy and cheap because of our invention of Flexible Wings. 51 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:47,480 Today, millions of people have flown hang gliders worldwide. 52 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:52,160 Regalo's Flexible Wing has also inspired the design of paragliders, kites, and revolutionary 53 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:53,840 parachutes. 54 00:03:53,840 --> 00:03:58,640 Regalo's Flexible Wing has not only proven to be reliable, inexpensive, and safe, but 55 00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:06,400 has allowed people to be introduced to the adventures and challenges of aviation. 56 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,040 Mr. Regalo still hang glides on occasion off the dunes at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 57 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:16,520 Coming up, we find out how NASA tests aircraft tires at over 250 miles per hour. 58 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,800 But first, did you know that engineer Otto Lilienthal developed 18 different gliders 59 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,880 between 1892 and 1896? 60 00:04:23,880 --> 00:04:27,840 Described by many as the world's first true aviator, Lilienthal's designs were used by 61 00:04:27,840 --> 00:04:31,040 many aviation pioneers, including the Wright Brothers. 62 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:35,560 Tragically, Lilienthal was killed in 1896 while flying one of his own gliders. 63 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:36,800 His last words? 64 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:40,480 Sacrifices must be made.