Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, 1974

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These photos are by Hugh Morton. See Hugh Morton’s photos (related topics menu) and Hugh Morton in Copyright of early hang gliding photos.

John Harris in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974, North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library.

John Harris of Kitty Hawk Kites made the first ever hang glider flight from Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina, on July 13th, 1974. (See the Kitty Hawk Kites page.)

August 1974

Hang gliders atop Grandfather Mountain in August 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

Standard Rogallo over Grandfather Golf and Country Club, August 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

Standard Rogallo with pilot in prone harness over Grandfather Golf and Country Club, August 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

September 1974

Hang gliders atop Grandfather Mountain, September 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

Hang glider launch area atop Grandfather Mountain in September 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

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Standard Rogallo hang glider launching from Grandfather Mountain in September 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

The pilot here has his left hand on the base tube and his right hand on the down-tube, a popular method for ground handling and launching at the time. The transition from ground to air, involving physical and sensory coordination unique in aviation*, is one of the most difficult aspects of hang gliding to learn.

* Learning to launch in a paraglider is similarly challenging, but paragliders were an innovation still 15 years away at this time.

Standard Rogallo hang gliders flying from Grandfather Mountain in September 1974, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © 1974 North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

Undated

Dave Meuhl and glider, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library

The Dave Meuhl images are undated, but the glider, which I think is an Eipper standard Rogallo, dates them as either 1974 or 1975. (See the Eipper-Formance of Torrance, California related topics menu.)

Dave Meuhl, in the Hugh Morton Photographs and Films #P0081, copyright © North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library