Ken may well have been the first person to fly a hang glider in the UK and came a close second to Geoff Mcbroom as a manufacturer. At that time also working for the company was Dave Raymond and David Walling an ex European tow kitting champion. Overnight Ken started producing his own hang gliders, calling his company Birdman Sports. Result was that Ken started importing Bennett gliders from the USA, Unfortunately some of them arrived minus a few parts that Ken had to manufacture and install himself. Ken was amazed and asked him if it could be done from a hill. Bill Bennet came to the lake and flew his kite to 5/600', released and landed on the side of the lake. In the early 70's he was doing a lot of waterskiing and one of his friends used to fly what was then called a flat kite behind a boat about 10/15' of the water. Ken Messenger a keen sports man, who was into motor bike and car racing. This information links McBroom’s hang glider back, via Bill Bennett, to John Dickenson and the Dickenson Wing in Australia. The Kilbo Plans say "Hang Glider Plan Adapted from N.A.S.A. ![]() Those plans were derived from the Bennett ski kite which Bill Bennett introduced to Kilborne in 1969, which of course was a copy of an Aerostructures (Dickenson Licensed Product) Wing. ![]() It’s more than likely that the plans he saw were what have been come known as the “Kilbo plans” drawn by Dave Kilborne, which were distributed free in the “Low and Slow” magazine #6 in mid 1971, and became the starting point for all other plans. The glider was designed by Geoff McBroom, who used to work for British Airospace at Bristol after he found plans for a glider in information available from Nasa, it had a glide angle of around 3:1. The 1st British hang glider described as a Rogallo wing was constructed in 1971 by Geoff McBroom, Les Hockings, Steve Stanwick, Howard Holdie and Tony Gillette, with balloonist Don Cameron making the sail. ![]() How it spread around the world with the UK being one of its last ports of call. A brief History of the British hang glider
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