[JoeF]

Any and all detail of this particular inflated glider would be fair game for this topic.
The coming inflated hang gliders will have this topic's glider as part of their roots, I suppose.
The shown incident was a kited launch circumstance.
There is some data in the article HERE.
Page 59 of Popular Science, May, 1931.

The aside topic of inflated hang gliders is invited in other specialized topic threads; thanks.
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Popular Science, January, 1931, page 52, held an article on this particular glider.
SEE ARTICLE HERE
Caution: Be prepared for possible versions of the glider; the item shown in the January, 1931, article might not be the exact glider shown in the later article of May, 1931.
Inventor: Taylor McDaniel.
Note: Richard Miller mentioned Taylor McDaniel and the glider in Without Visible Means of Support, 1967 published book that inspired many who contributed to the mid-century hang gliding renaissance.
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Built in Washington, D.C., USA. Format: primary glider using inflated boomed tail.
The article shows Joseph Berling (sic, probably "Bergling") being pilot in the shown photo. [[Spelling of name is yet to be confirmed; one other source had Bergling; I am not with a primary source. Joseph P. Bergling ]]

Clip from Popular Science, May 1931, page 126.

PopScieMay1931MayPg126textclip.JPG (30.49 KiB) Viewed 4661 times

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Some leads clipped from : http://fly.historicwings.com/2013/03/th ... ble-plane/
Peggy E Suttle 2 yearss ago
My grandfather was Taylor McDaniel, I was nine years old when he passed away 1952. I still have many good memories of him. His wife Ida McDaniel Passed away in 1981. He still has one son living Thomas McDaniel he lives in Lake Mary, Florida.
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David Cannon 1 years ago
Peggy,
My Grandfather was Joe Bergling, the pilot of the 1931 glider crash.
Joe passed away in 1999. He spoke of the test flights on Hoover Field often.
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[dhmartens]

[JoeF]

Fig. 1 of his U.S. Patent 1905298
Patent filed on Aug 13, 1930.

1905298Fig1.JPG (73.94 KiB) Viewed 4651 times

[JoeF]

In the following article, the reader is cautioned to sort unshown McDaniel craft from the shown photographs; I suspect that text about McDaniel's craft may be distinct from the Goodyear Inflatoplane. http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Goodyear-Inflatoplane.html KEY: McDaniel's craft did not use Goodyear's "Airmat" (dropstitch; high-count interior stay lines that connect upper surface to lower surface of wing elements)
Some "airmat" study: http://www.energykitesystems.net/Materi ... index.html

Building a rubber airplane or glider that would safely bounce a few times in the event of a crash landing rather than disintegrate on contact-has intrigued aeronautical engineers for many years. The first known attempt to design, build and fly an inflatable rubber glider and then a powered rubber airplane came about after a fatal crash in a Brazilian jungle after World War I. The accident, which resulted in the death of his friend and partner' prompted Taylor McDaniel to think about building an airplane out of inflatable rubber tubes to protect the passengers and pilot in an accident.
Back in the United States, McDaniel worked on his idea for a number of years and finally received a patent for an inflated rubber tube glider that flew twice on January 4, 1931. After making a few control adjustments, an experienced glider pilot and friend of McDaniel's, Joseph P. Bergling, flew the glider four more times that same day.
On January 11, McDaniel scheduled another test flight and press demonstration for newsreel companies, newspaper reporters and photographers. Towed by a truck, the glider reached an altitude of 100 feet before the pilot experienced control problems. He managed to land safely.
McDaniel wanted to cancel the demonstration and take the plane back to his shop to rerig the control system, but a photographer who had missed the landing insisted on one more attempt. This time the glider had reached about 80 feet when the pilot lost control. The right wing hit the ground in a near vertical position, collapsing it. When the nose hit next, the wing snapped back to its original configuration, leaving the glider intact. The test pilot suffered only a bruised right heel and a twisted left knee. Close examination of the point of impact revealed that only one wire had been broken in the crash, amounting to about 50 cents worth of damage.
McDaniel's second construction effort was a bird shaped inflated rubber tube glider mostly put together from his first aircraft before he ran out of money. But when the Great Depression hit the United States in 1931 and 1932, paralyzing the aviation industry, it became next to impossible to raise money for further development. Taylor McDaniel died in 1952 at the age of 61, still convinced his idea for a rubber airplane was a sound concept. http://www.fiddlersgreen.net/models/aircraft/Goodyear-Inflatoplane.html

[JoeF]

The page
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2008/06/weekend-wings-20-inflatable-aircraft.html
has further notes and comments.

[JoeF]

FLIGHT, January 1931, Taylor McDaniel and his Rubber Glider. And William T. Grady

FLIGHTJan1931McDaniel.JPG (42.78 KiB) Viewed 4642 times

Seeking still a third person related to the project!
Taylor McDaniel
William T. Grady
_____________ ?