History
Rogallo had been interested in the flexible wing since 1945. He and his wife built and flew kites as a hobby and, since they could not find official backing for the wing (including at Rogallo's employer NACA), carried out experiments in their own time. By the end of 1948 they had two working designs using a flexible wing - a kite (which they called "Flexi-Kite") and a gliding parachute (which they later referred to as a "paraglider"). Rogallo and his wife received a patent on a "V-shaped" flexible wing in March 1951. Selling the Flexi-kite as a toy helped to finance their work and publicize the design.
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