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Press Releases

Kitty Hawk Kites Celebrates Francis Rogallo's 97th Birthday

Southern Shores, NC (January 2009) - Kitty Hawk Kites celebrated with Francis Rogallo, an inventor in the aviation industry, who turned 97 years of age. Kitty Hawk Kites employees brought gifts to Mr. Rogallo at his home in Southern Shores. A cake, decorated with a hang glider in Mr. Rogallo's honor, was also part of the celebration.

In 1948, Francis and Gertrude Rogallo invented the flexible wing, a revolutionary wing concept that was  originally 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 joy, adventure, and challenges of personal flight.

Francis Rogallo celebrated his 97th birthday on January 27th, 2009. Happy Birthday to Mr. Rogallo from all his friends at Kitty Hawk Kites!