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From the dawn of time man has longed to be rid of his terrestrial fetters and to soar like the eagles. The dream of free-flight has inspired some of history’s most daring exploits. Legend tells of Daedalus and his imprisoned son Icarus seeking escape on wings made of birds feathers bonded with wax. Exuberant Icarus, ignoring his father’s instructions plunged into the sea when the wax melted after flying too close to the sun. The dream lived on.
The Chinese are said to have used kites to spy over the walls of their foes. After them, the Renaissance produced prodigious efforts to fly, with intellectual giants like Leonardo da Vinci bearing upon the subject. Scores of others on all continents, moved by the ancient yearning, strove against the odds, all without real success. A few however, did increase the scanty store of knowledge.
SIR GEORGE CAYLEY
Please, Sir George, I wish to give notice. I was hired to drive not to fly! protested the first human being ever to fly a fixed wing glider. He was the reluctant boy coachman of English inventor Sir George Cayley.
Impelled by a consuming passion to overcome the obstacles to man’s ancient quest, the eighty year old Yorkshireman’s liftime work cumulated as he watched a brief, uncertain wobble across a low narrow valley, with his servant trembling at the controls of his latest invention.
The year was 1853. More than anyone else, this visionary baronet was responsible for turning the pursuit of flight from an amusement into a science. Others were to follow.
OTTO LILIENTHAL
Fascinated by the majestic flight of the storks near their home in Pommerania, teenage Otto Lilienthal and his younger brother Gustav constructed their first flying machine. A frail contraption of thin birch wood veneer, the strap-on wings were to flap furiously as the boys took turns in dashing down a hillside. Their youthful experiments were conducted at night to avoid the jibes of peers.
Form his later systematic study of the principles of flight, Otto was able to manoeuvre his somewhat clumsy devices up to 1,000 feet across the Earth’s surface.
His unshakable faith in the supporting ocean of the air was not misplaced, but his conviction that flapping wings held the secret of successful flight, proved unsupportable.
ENTER THE AUSTRALIANS
Manned flight was soon given a big lift from down under. If there is one man more than another who deserves to succeed in flying through the air, that man is Lawrence Hargrave of Sydney, New South Wales, penned American contemporary pioneer, Octave Chanute.
I know that success is dead sure to come, Hargrave wrote after his breakthrough experiments in 1894, where he managed to rise sixteen feet in the air. Though not for him, these words proved prophetic.
Seventy years later, another Australian took up the mantle form the skies. And not far from the site of Hargraves’ endeavours, succeeded spectacularly.
BILL MOYES - AUSTRALIA’S LIVING LEGEND
Like his visionary antecedents, Bill Moyes dreamed of free flight. From boyhood, he watched the gulls floating effortlessly on the air and developed a passionate longing to join them. At long last, man’s oldest dream was to take substance and literally soar.
At first, using speed boats as the source of motion, Bill Moyes developed a ‘kite’ that was to lift him into the record books. Carefully refining his concepts as he proceeded, Bill was able to achieve stable, controllable personal flight for the first time in history. His death defying daredevilry now thrilled capacity crowds across several continents at shows and exhibitions. Man had finally shaken free of his shackles. A major sport was born.
Over the next few years, Bill made hundreds of boat-towed launches, pioneering the fledging sport. In 1967 he foot-launched from Mount Crackenback and flew 3 kilometres. He became the first man to tow to 1,000 feet, in 1969 he was the first man to soar, staying aloft at La Perouse (Sydney) for 32 minutes. In the same year, he boat-towed to 2,870 feet over Lake Ellesmere in New Zealand. 1970 saw Bill aero-towed to 8,610 feet in Wisconsin, U.S.A. Later that year, Bill became the first man to glide into the Grand Canyon. Returning to Lake Ellesmere, Bill towed to 4,750 feet in 1972.
The Australian Birdman quickly caught the imagination of the world. He had done what countless before him had tried to do and failed. Bill soared into the history books by applying his mind to the unsolved problems left by the great minds of the ages. With the benefit of modern materials and advanced aerodynamics, Bill Moyes produced the world’s first truly successful hang glider.
Since those early days, Moyes Delta Gliders Pty. Limited has worked tirelessly to perfect the beautiful craft that now cavort across sunsets worldwide. The twenty years of exhaustive research and development involved, has produced the safest, highest performing gliders in the world. No other hang glider approaches the proud record of international successes enjoyed by Moyes Delta Gliders.
STEVE MOYES
Father and son Steve Moyes are now synonymous with their ancient mythical counterparts. But they are no myth, though they are legendary indeed.
In 1982, Bill and Steve climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with their gliders. Their majestic 80 minute descent was the subject of the film, ‘The Birdmen of Kilimanjaro.’ The list of their exploits reads like the dreams of the ages come true.
Unlike Icarus, Steve has stayed close to his father’s side since his first flight at age fourteen. He is the world’s undisputed, foremost exponent of hang gliding. Between them, father and son hold virtually every ‘first’, record and title.
Steve Moyes’ knowledge and experience is unparalleled by any other contemporary pilot. He is now the chief designer for Moyes Delta Gliders. His chief concern, apart from performance, is safety. Each year sees Steve travelling extensively, not only to represent Australia in International competition, but to maintain the keen edge of superiority in Moyes’ continuously evolving products.
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