Rogallo
/rə(ʊ)ˈɡaləʊ/Aeronautics
noun
1Attributive Designating a lightweight flexible wing or aerofoil formed of two triangular pieces of fabric or plastic bounded by three rigid poles that meet at a point, and deployed by means of tension lines.
- Rogallo wings are used in microlight aircraft, hang-gliders, kites, and parachutes..
2Also with lower-case initial. A Rogallo wing.
Origin
1960s; earliest use found in Flight International. From the name of Francis Melvin Rogallo, U.S. engineer, and his wife Gertrude S. Rogallo, who invented this kind of wing (U.S. Patent 2,546,078, filed in 1948, and U.S. Patent 2,751,172).