Definitive? Hmm, I wonder if the word 'sailplane' might have earlier
origins? Lilienthal, Chanute et al used cotton twill cloth to cover
their gliders (perhaps the same, or similar, cloth used for yacht sails
of the time?) and Lilienthal referred to one of his machines as
'Normal-Segelapparat (standard sailing machine)'. It is not too much of
a stretch of the imagination (for me) to believe that people might have
called such gliders 'sailplanes'.
In more recent times, the term 'sailplane' seems to me a much more
appropriate (and elegant) name for hang gliders, which are indeed using
sailcloth for their surface covering.
See Lilienthal info at
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero...t/lilienth.htm


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bernie01
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