Bill Bennett, an Australian who introduced the modern controllable hang glider to the United States in 1969 and helped popularize the fledgling sport through exhibitions and publicity stunts, has died. He was 73.
Bennett, nicknamed the "Birdman," at one time owned Delta Wing Kites and Gliders in Van Nuys, believed to be the world's largest hang glider manufacturing company. He died Oct. 7 in an ultralight accident at Lake Havasu City Airport in Arizona, said Margo Brown, his fiancee.
Bennett, who was being recertified in a powered hang glider, was taking off with instructor Drew Reeves when the glider lost power and dove into the ground, Brown said. Reeves received multiple injuries.
In the 1970s and '80s, Bennett's company manufactured hang gliders and related equipment. He was instrumental in developing innovative hang glider concepts and designs.
"Even after he introduced the sport, he brought innovation after innovation that made the sport really what it is today," said Richard Boone, Bennett's chief designer from 1973 to 1980.
Boone said Bennett and his company pioneered the basic shape of modern gliders, along with emergency parachutes used by hang glider pilots, Mylar-coated sail cloth and improvements related to handling and performance.
Bennett also co-developed hang glider flight parks in Crestline in San Bernardino County, Torrey Pines in La Jolla and Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Boone remembered Bennett as "a charming, funny guy" who was both a promoter and an adventurer. "He would always be dreaming up a new stunt," he said.
Josh Criss, a hang glider pilot who interviewed Bennett for a documentary on the sport, said that "probably his most significant role is he helped to make hang gliding a household word."
"He got into some pretty serious accidents a few times," said Criss. "He was really extremely dedicated and a fearless promoter of the sport."
According to Jim Palmieri's book, "Sky Adventures," Bennett achieved a series of hang gliding firsts: flying higher than a mile, flying more than 200 miles while under tow, flying a motorized hang glider, and building and flying a hang glider trike (a propeller-driven craft). He also was the first to launch a hang glider by a hot-air balloon, thus setting the 10,000-foot world record.
One of Bennett's best-known stunts in the United States occurred on July 4, 1969, when he glided around the Statue of Liberty.
