Ken de Russy <<weflyuniv>>
writes:

The March 2012 USHPA magazine is just now arriving in the mail in
the USA. In it, the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association
announces that John Dickenson is the recipient of 2011 Presidential Citation.
"Hang Gliding and Paragliding" magazine is the official publication of the
USHPA. The language of the magazine article, I believe, is the most emphatic and
explicit acknowledgment of the importance of John Dickenson's role in the sport
of hang gliding that has been published by any sporting organization to this
time.

Hang Gliding and Paragliding March 2012 P43

Hang Gliding and Paragliding March 2012 P42

John Dickenson created an aircraft that is unprecedented in aviation history. It
was so simple, lightweight and user friendly that thousands flew successfully on
their first attempt. And these qualities were so apparent and obvious that
people with no background in flight were inspired to give it a try. The user
friendliness was no illusion. It was real and available to anyone who tried. I
personally witnessed thousands of such flights at a 200' hill. The Dickenson
wing's essential design features were so easily comprehended and absorbed with
only a few minutes inspection, that it was routinely copied by thousands with no
special knowledge or skill and often flown within a day of that first viewing.
Because it was so simple, so easily copied at a cost of $100 to $300, and so
user friendly, tens of thousands became pilots, in a great many cases with no
training whatsoever. No other aircraft can make such a claim. Simply put there
is no other aircraft inventor to compare John Dickenson to. No one came close to
what John Dickenson accomplished. Not....even....close.