This 25-second video from the early 1960's shows the Paraglider Research Vehicle (Paresev) lifting off with an air tow from Rogers Dry Lake in California's Mojave Desert.
The Paresev (Paraglider Research Vehicle) was an indirect outgrowth of kite-parachute studies by NACA Langley engineer Francis M. Rogallo. In early 1960's the "Rogallo wing" seemed an excellent means of returning a spacecraft to Earth. The delta wing design was patented by Mr. Rogallo. In May 1961, Robert R. Gilruth, director of the NASA Space Task Group, requested studies of an inflatable Rogallo-type "Parawing" for spacecraft. Several companies responded; North American Aviation, Downey, CA, produced the most acceptable concept and development was contracted to that company. In November 1961 NASA Headquarters launched a paraglider development project, with Langley doing wind tunnel studies and the NASA Flight Research Center (now Armstrong) supporting the North American test program.
The North American concept was a capsule-type vehicle with a stowed "parawing" that could be deployed and controlled from within for a landing more like an airplane instead of a "splash down" in the ocean. The logistics became enormous and the price exorbitant, plus NASA pilots and engineers felt some baseline experience like building a vehicle and flying a Parawing should be accomplished first.
The Paresev was used to gain in-flight experience with four different membranes (wings), and was not used to develop the more complicated inflatable deployment system. The Paresev was designed by Charles Richard, of the Flight Research Center Vehicle and System Dynamics Branch, with the rest of the team being engineers: Richard Klein, Gary Layton, John Orahood, and Joe Wilson; from the Maintenance and Manufacturing Branch: Frank Fedor, LeRoy Barto; Victor Horton as Project Manager, with Gary Layton becoming Project Manager later on in the project. Mr. Paul Bikle, Director of the Center, gave instructions that were short and to the point: build a single-seat Paraglider and "do it quick and cheap."
The Paresev was unpowered, the "fuselage," an open framework fabricated of welded 4130 steel tubing, was referred to as a `space frame.' The keel and leading edges of the wings were constructed of 2 1/2-inch diameter aluminum tubing. The leading edge sweep angle was held constant at 50 degrees by a rigid spreader bar. Additional wing structure fabricated of steel tubing ensured structural integrity. Seven weeks after the project was initiated the team rolled out the Paresev 1. It resembled a grown-up tricycle, with a rudimentary seat, an angled tripod mast, and, perched on top of the mast, a Rogallo-type parawing. The pilot sat out in the open, strapped in the seat, with no enclosure of any kind. He controlled the descent rate by tilting the wing fore and aft, and turned by tilting the wing from side to side with a control stick that came from overhead. NASA registered the Paresev, the first NASA research airplane to be constructed totally "in-house," with the Federal Aviation Administration on February 12, 1962. Flight testing started immediately.
