From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia NASA Paresev
NASA Paresev
Paresev
Paresev 1-A with tow plane
Paresev 1 in landing, 1962
Role Flexible-wing research glider
Manufacturer NASA
First flight 1962
The Paresev (Pa Research Vehicle) was an exper-
Paraglider Rese
imental NASA glider aircraft based upon the kite-para-
chute studies by NASA engineer Francis Rogallo.
Between 1961 and 1965 the ability of the Rogallo wing
(also called "Parawing") to descend a payload such as the
Gemini space capsule safely from high altitude to ground
was studied.[1][2] The Paresev was a test vehicle used to
learn how to control this parachute-wing for a safe land-
ing at a normal airfield.
Publicity on the Paresev and the Ryan XV-8 "Flying
Jeep" aircraft inspired hobbyists to adapt Rogallo’s flexi- Paresev 1-B under aerotow.
ble wing airfoil onto elementary hang gliders leading to
the most successful hang glider configuration in history. the April 1963 maiden flight of the Mike Burns Skiplane,
as he had closely studied NASA literature[5]; Burns later
Development helped make airworthy the ski-kite-glider of Australian
John Dickenson that also embodied mechanics of the
NASA experimented with the flexible Rogallo wing, two-lobe four-beam wing designed earlier by Charles
which they renamed the Parawing, in order to evaluate it Richards.[6]
as a recovery system for the Gemini space capsules and The Richard’s aluminum-tubed two-lobed Paresev
recovery of used Saturn rocket stages.[3][4] Under a di- wing configuration evolved to the sharp-nosed, low-
rective by Paul Bikle, NASA engineer Charles Richards sweep standard Rogallos of the 1960s and early 1970s,
in 1961–1962 designed the collapsible four-tube Rogallo coupled with variations of the triangle control frame
wing used in the Paresev. The Paresev series included used in hang gliders as far back as the 1900s, if not earlier.
wing configurations that were tightly foldable from the Data developed by NASA in the late 1950s fed both the
nose plate for easy transport, using initially a cloth sail Charles Richards team and a different Ryan Aeronautical
and later one of Dacron. team that produced the Fleep. The Fleep used the four-
The Parasev sail and cross-spreader beam format first beam two-lobed wing and influenced Barry Hill Palmer,
flown on February 5, 1961 was seen 14 months later in builder and pilot of the first hang glider based on the Ro-
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia NASA Paresev
gallo wing. The rigid-tubed Paresev used a cantilevered Paresev flight log (NOTE – This log is incomplete*): Pare-
cross-beam but did not use a kingpost.[7] sev Flight Log
Note that the "paraglider" involved in the early 1960s
experiments is very different from the sport glider of to- * The Paresev vehicle was flown 341 times. Thomp-
day used by practitioners of paragliding. son made numerous ground-tow flights and
claimed about 60 air-tow flights. Peterson claimed
228 flights (ground and air tows). Grissom made
Design and construction two flights. Champine made four flights. Kleuver
The Paresev 1A and 1B were unpowered; the "fuselage" made at least eight flights. It is unknown how many
was an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel times Armstrong, Hetzel, and Slayton flew.
tubing, called a "space frame". The keel and leading
edges of the wing were constructed of 2.5-inch-diameter
(64 mm) aluminium tubing. The leading edge sweep an-
Operational history
gle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader The Paresev completed nearly 350 flights during a re-
bar. Additional wing structure fabricated from steel tub- search program that ran from 1962 until 1964.[15][16] Us-
ing ensured structural integrity. ing the fully flexible parawing or the tube-stiffened
The basic vehicle was slightly more than 11 ft (3.4 m) paraglider of the Paresev 1A, 1B, 1C as an alternate to
high from the top of the paraglider’s wing to the ground, spacecraft recovery was deemed too unreliable upon un-
while the length of the center keel was 15 ft (4.6 m). Total folding so round parachutes for water landings were used
weight was about 600 lb (270 kg)[8] On August 24, 1962, instead. The Paresev and other flexible-wing projects
seven weeks after the project was initiated, the team such as the Ryan XV-8 stopped being funded by NASA on
rolled out the Paresev 1.[9] 1965. Although Rogallo wrote about, modeled, and spoke
about recreational applications including hang gliding,
NASA was not in the business of applying Rogallo’s family
Control of airfoils to personal aircraft such as kites, hang gliders,
The Paresev was controlled by moving the tensionally and powered light aircraft.
hung pilot’s and fuselage’s mass relative to the position The Paresev was transferred to the Smithsonian Na-
of the wing. This mass-shifting was effected by tilting the tional Air and Space Museum located in Washington, D.C.
wing from side to side and fore and aft by using a con- for display.
trol stick in front of the pilot that descended from the
wing above. Another version translated the same weight-
shift control via cables.[1] As the Paresev was towed in
Test pilots
a kite mode, it usually rose from the ground at about • Milton Orville Thompson, NASA FRC
46 mph (74 km/h) and had a maximum air speed of about • Robert Apgar Champine, NASA LRC[17]
65 mph (105 km/h). [10] The Paresev control pendulum • Neil Armstrong, NASA FRC[18]
weight-shift control system was presaged by a published • Bruce A. Peterson, NASA FRC[19]
patent[11], an early use of the hung pilot behind a cable- • Charles Hetzel, North American Aviation
stayed triangle control bar in 1908[12] in the territory of • Maj. Emil “Jack” Kluever, U.S. Army
Breslau, and then also by control wing of George Spratt • Donald K. "Deke" Slayton, NASA MSC
in the 1920s.[13] • Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, NASA MSC
Variants Tow Aircraft
• Paresev 1 - first flight on January 25, 1962, crashed • Piper PA-18 Super Cub (N-68P)
on March 14, 1962.[14] Frame fitted with a linen • Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (50-1675)
membrane wing and the control stick coming from • Stearman (N69056)
overhead in front of the pilot’s seat. • Boeing HC-1A helicopter (58-5515)
• Paresev 1A - first flight May 18, 1962, last flight was
on June 28, 1962.[14] Used a rebuilt frame from the
Paresev 1, but had a control stick and a Dacron
Specifications
membrane wing. Data from[citation needed]
• Paresev 1B - first flight on July 27, 1962. Last flight on General characteristics
Feb 20, 1963.[14] • One pilot
• Paresev 1C - first flight March 4, 1963. Last flight on • 15 ft 0 in (4.57 m)
April 14, 1964.[14] It had a modified frame with a half- • 11 ft 0 in (3.35 m)
scale version of an inflatable parawing. • 179 ft2 (16.6 m2)
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia NASA Paresev
• 600 lb (270 kg) Barrison F. Layton, Jr., and Milton O. Thompson in
Performance National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s
• 65 mph (100 km/h) Technical [vvvvvv Note D-1826] is open to the
public and can be freely copied and distributed.
Author(s): Layton, G. P., Jr.; Thompson, M. O.
See also [8] Specifications
[9] Construction & dated NASA images
[10] Abstract: Flight tests of unpowered, manned
paragliders. NASA Center: Dryden Flight Research
Center Publication Year: 1963 Added to NTRS:
2006-11-06 Accession Number: 63N14429;
Document ID: 19630004553; Report Number: NASA-
TN-D-1826 NAS-TN-D-1826
[11] http://www.google.com/
patents?id=XQtXAAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 376937,
filed in 1887, William Beeson of Montana, USA
[12] Nitsch Collection
[13] Early Spratt Aircraft
[14] ^ Paresev index: Paresev Photo Gallery Contact
Sheet
[15] Total of 350 flights performed
[16] Paresev project description
[17] Apgar Champine, biography: Robert Apgar
Champine
[18] Neil Armstrong - Test flies the Paresev
[19] Bruce Peterson
• History of hang gliding
•
•
Barry Hill Palmer, 1960–62
Charles Richards (NASA engineer)
External links
• Ultralight trike • NASA Dryden Paresev Photo Collection
• FIRST re-entry glider - astronautix article
• Paresev photo collection by NASA: [1]
References • Link to videos of Paresev in flight: [2], [3]
[1] ^ Aviation News article • Paresev Flight Log, compiled by Peter W. Merlin,
[2] Re-entry glider NASA History Department
[3] Space Flight Revolution -article by NASA • Flight movies of Paresev 1B
[4] In 1965 Jack Swigert, who would later be one of the • EVALUATION OF TWO UNPOWERED MANNED
Apollo 13 astronauts, softly landed a full-scale PARAGLIDERS
Gemini capsule using a Rogallo wing stiffened with • Hewes, Donald E.: Free-Flight Investigation of Radio-
inflatable tubes along the wing’s edges. Controlled Models With Parawings. NASA TN D-927,
[5] Sky Sport, pgs 39-43, 1989, article 1961. TN D-927
[6] http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/Paresev/ • 1960, August NASA Technical note D-443 Preliminary
index.html Paresev investigation of a paraglider.
[7] A 33 page evaluation of two versions of the Paresev • http://www.members.lycos.nl/joujelle/
hang glider by "Preliminary Flight Evaluation of nasa%20gliders.htm
Two Unpowered Manned Paragliders" written by
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Categories:
• United States experimental aircraft 1960–1969
• Glider aircraft
• Delta-wing aircraft
• NASA aircraft
• Aircraft manufactured by the United States
• Parafoils
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia NASA Paresev
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