'The Children of the Wind' - A History of the New Aviation 1971-1996

[Larry Dighera, Moderator]

'The Children of the Wind' - A History of the New Aviation 1971-1996

Here is a serialized account taken from Brian Miltion's magnum
opus, 'The Children of the Wind' - A History of the New Aviation
1971-1996, soon to be published by Endeavour Press, a
London-based epublisher. These first few chapters
chronicling the beginnings of man's quest to fly and how the
forefathers of aviation have influenced contemporary ultralight
aviation have kindly been made available to newsgroup
readers. They will be posted here over the next few months.
This first post is the Table of Contents.

You can learn more about TV presenter, lecturer,
journalist, award winning around-the-world microlight pilot,
author of seven books, and born adventurer, Brian Milton on
his web site <http://www.brian-milton.com/>;. You can also
purchase autographed copies of Brian's literary works there too:
<http://www.brian-milton.com/book>. And don't miss the
extensive collection of aviation videos, including Brian's Around
the World by Microlight flight for which he was awarded the
Britannia Trophy, joining a very distinguished list of aviators
who have won that award including Sir John Alcock, Bert Hinkler
and Sir Alan Cobham. Brian was also awarded the Segrave Trophy,
an award presented to great sportsmen; past recipients include Sir
Malcolm Campbell, Amy Johnson and Jackie Stewart:
<http://www.brian-milton.com/video/>

Additional links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Milton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segrave_Trophy


� Copyright Brian Milton 2013, All Rights Reserved


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CONTENTS
Chapter 1

Life, work and death of Alvin Russell, my best friend and BHGA's first
Flying and Training Officer. He laid down the regulations for safe
teaching in Britain. Killed on a hill in Ireland on Christmas Eve,
1976, flying a prototype that was rigged wrongly, and which, except
for sheer chance, I should have flown.


Chapter 2

History of aviation from Icarus and Daedelus, through King Bladud and
Leonardo da Vinci, to Lilienthal, our last common ancestor with
Mainstream Aviation. Includes a recce of Crete to see if Daedelus
could have flown from there in 1500BC and whether the flight could be
repeated today (it could). The English apprentice who, 500 years after
Leonardo da Vinci conceived it, built and flew a hang glider designed
by the Italian genius. Some comments on Mainstream Aviation since the
Wright Brothers, and death of the "Right Stuff" by 1970.


Chapter 3

Francis Rogallo and the Holy Lunatics, two streams of research, one
Australian, one Californian, which led to the First Lilienthal Meet,
May 23, 1971, 123rd birthday of the German flyer and official birth of
New Aviation. Includes link through Rogallo, John Dickenson, Bill
Moyes and Bill Bennett in Australia, to that Meet, plus US links via
Richard Miller and Jack Lambie. Holy Lunatics include Paul McCready,
man-powered flight pioneer. Bill Liscomb's account, one of 14 who flew
wings that day, where the longest flight was 196 feet and longest time
in the air, 11 seconds.


Chapter 4

British Pioneers, Geoff McBroom, Len Gabriels, the Haynes Brothers,
Nick Regan, Ken Messenger jumps off Snowdon, Brian Wood's 8-hour
flight including in-air feeding, formation of the BHGA, "clubbiness"
and excitement of early flying, the first Worlds, Brian Wood's
spectacular accident, American demi-gods.


Chapter 5

Learning how to fly cross-country. Graham Hobson's "What is a
thermal?", early 'wave' flight, a mile high over Snowdon, Bob Calvert
leaves hill in a thunderstorm, 1977 League XCs, Nigel Milnes 22 mile
record, different regional styles of XC, Robert Bailey's 50-mile
flight, American go-for-it flying in Owen's "Scareyergordoff" Valley,
US pilot Jim Lee flies 168 miles.


Chapter 6

Gliding and Hang Gliding, the organised campaign by some British
conventional gliding clubs to remove hang gliders from 'their' hills,
advantages and disadvantages of both flying disciplines, yearnings
from sailplanes to capture the huge energy and excitement of the New
Aviation.


Chapter 7

Evolution of competitions from spot landings to XC. Foundation and
early problems of the League, and movement of Britain from nowhere to
edge of world domination in competitions. Challenge to Americans,
reverse of yachting's America's Cup, "watershed" wins by Britain, US
fight-back with the "Comet Revolution".


Chapter 8

Power, evolution of successful man-powered flight, winning the Kremer
prizes, sun-powered flight, first petrol engines, Soarmaster Arab
units start Intifada, James Bond and the John Long 'Moonraker', birth
of the trike, early experiences, record flights, to Africa, Australia,
across Atlantic, microlights 20% of UK registration.


Chapter 9

Characters in the New Aviation, Rich Pfieffer provoking Chris Price to
collide with him at 1,500', Pfieffer faces 104,000 counts of assault
with a deadly weapon over Rosebowl. Elsinore pilots soar forest fires,
moonlight flying in the Pennines, KO distance event in 50 mph winds,
Lester Cruise blows wing apart at 300' in Alps without parachute. The
experiences of four OAPs, "thanks to those who threw me off Beachy
Head when I lost my bottle", mad aerobatics at American Cup, girl
climbs through hole in wing at 6,000' and jumps off. Swiss
bungee-jumps off paraglider for 30th birthday, Dangerous Sports Club
jumps off Kilimanjaro, BASE jumpers leap off 5,000' cliff, clash
between New Aviation ideas and Daily Telegraph.


Chapter 10

Records tumble. 19-stone English pilot climbs to 10,400 feet over
Dales in 'wave', crossing the Pyrenees in one 150km flight, South
African flies 314km in terrible 'dust-devils', Jim Lee's ethics of
'dust-devil flying', Kevin Christopherson's 246m flight off Whisky
Peak chased by Mom, Larry Tudor's 300-mile world record in dinosaur
country, Liavin Mallin's "flutter over the back" in Ireland.


Chapter 11

Birds and the New Aviation. Judy Leden and the besotted vultures of
India, eagle attacks on competitors in the 1988 Worlds in Australia,
Jo Bathmann's. Once-friendly eagle called Maximillian in the Austrian
Alps only seen off by pollution, hitch-hiking Mam Tor Crow in the
Pennines, two Canadians teach a bunch of geese to see a microlight as
their mother to get them to learn how to migrate.


Chapter 12

Origins and development of paragliding, hang gliding teaches them to
foot launch, a jump off Everest, explosion of growth (80,000 in Japan,
20% women), tumbling distance and height-gain records, Swiss accident
study, record flight in South Africa in storms, first 100-mile flight
in England, Hubert Aupetit tours Scotland by foot and paraglider as
aerial vagabond.


Chapter 13

Women and the New Aviation. Early sexist battles, Paige Pfieffer's
51-mile record, sick Japanese girl sung to by Larry Tudor as they
create world record in Owens Valley, Kay Simpson proposed to dual at
500 feet recalls as she learned how to fly. Liavin Mallin ("Little
Irish me") creates world record in Owens before amazing accident, Eve
Jackson flies microlight to Australia, Katherine Yardley beats Leden's
6-year record, Kari Castle breaks 200-miles wearing adult diapers,
Judy Leden - giant of the sport - champion of Britain, Europe and the
World, account of her world distance record in a paraglider with less
than 5 hours experience.


Chapter 14

British establish competition dominance for 12 years, emergence of
1985 world champion John Pendry, whinges at media disinterest, my
downfall as British competitions boss, leading the Americans twice
against Britain, Royal honours, the killer 1989 worlds and how they
were won by 20-year old Robbie Whittall.


Chapter 15

Deaths and all that. Debate on death vs growing old, statistics
covering 20 years of US hang gliding deaths, examination of why they
died, details of all 1991 US deaths, stories about Bob Wills before we
lost him to a helicopter. How George Worthington won all world records
at 60 years of age and died two years later because of hubris. Some
English deaths and why they happened, the "Great Italian Killer Storm
of 1989", famous pilots die, John Hudson's poetic view of wave before
his death, plea to understand why deaths happen, Keith Cockroft dies
as he lived.


Chapter 16

The Future. The New Aviation and the Olympics, discussion of media
image and how it might change, the Superleague and its failure,
American Cup future, update on sailplanes and hang gliding, the
children of Bill Moyes, Sea Thermals and crossing the Channel,
microlights explore mainstream aviation record flights, trike in a
dinghy, 2 Germans paraglide to England, military implications of the
trike, SAS use of 'throwaway aircraft', putting tearaways into hang
gliders. Is sex possible in a hang glider, a trike and a paraglider?


Chapter 17

Milton's Migration Rules, origins of the 444, bivouac-flying like the
birds, Mike and Caroline de Glanville's first migration flight, band
of Knights Templer dream of living daily on the wing, Pierre Bouilloux
does 385km over 12 days in a paraglider, Hubert Aupetit lays down
ethics of bivouac flying for ordinary mortals.


Chapter 18

Didier Favre, Beau Ideal. Pilot comment on Swiss champion Didier
Favre, throws over business and tries for 444 on a hang glider, years
of attempts, agony of living with self-imposed ideals. His account of
a 1991 success in the Alps, shepherd dubs him "Vagabond of the Skies",
gear needed for bivouac flying. Didier tries for 1111 km flight over
Alps from Monaco to Slovenia, fails because he 'betrayed the ideal',
1993 success after 3-months living on his wing with the eagles,
champions new type of wing, killed at 47 testing it.


� Copyright Brian Milton 2013, All Rights Reserved

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