April 2, 1963 R. T.

CELLA 3,083,933
SKI GLIDER
Filed April 28, 1960 2. Sheets-Sheet l

THIY s

1.

Inventor
MS/Caad 7. CaZZa
By
Attorney
April 2, 1963 R. T. CELLA 3,033,933
SKI GLIDER
Filed April 28, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2

Inventor
Me?caad Z. Ca2z4
by café
Attorney
United States Patent Office E
m 2
The forward tube 2 extends substantially straight across
3,083,933
SK GEDER
thea glider to points 15 near the wing tips,s at which points
wres it is bent upwardly at an angle of say 30 degrees to form
Richard "Scies: S. inton, N., a dihedral in the manner well known in the art. The rear
3 Cisis. (3. 244-3) s 5 tube 13 is similarly bent upwardly to form the dihedral
and forwardly to conform to the desired shape of the wing
This invention relates to gliders and more particularly tip. The entire structure is covered on both sides with a
to a glider suited for use with water skis. standard wing fabric 16 which is secured in place and
An object is to provide a glider of the above type which stiffened with airplane dope as in the usual practice to
is capable of lifting a skier from the water and returning 10 form an airfoil which is impervious to Water so that the
him to the water without requiring any action or control structure is buoyant. The center portion of the Wing be
on his part. tween the two central camber tubes 11 is left open to
Another object is to provide a device of the above type form an opening 7 for the rider. A tube 30 extends
which automatically lifts the skier from the water when between the two central camber tubes 11 at the for
towed at a predetermined speed, attains a height which de- 15 Ward edge of the opening 17.
pends in general upon the towing speed and which is The framework or truss is formed by vertical struts 20
capable of returning to the water in a free glide should extending downwardly from the two central camber tubes
the towing force be interrupted aS by the stopping of the 11 at a point about one-fifth of the distance from the lead
towing boat or the breaking of the tow line. ing edge to the trailing edge of the wing measured along
Another object is to provide a device of the above type 20 vertical
which is not dependent for its safe operation upon any
a straightstrut
chord 21 as indicated in FIG. 5, and a similar
22 located at a point about four-fifths of the
skill on the part of the rider. distance to the trailing edge measured in the same manner.
Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the The lower ends of the struts 20 and 22 are joined by
nature of the invention is more fully disclosed. horizontal tubes 23. A diagonal brace 24 extends from
The invention provides a glider of the above type hav- 25 the top of the strut 20 to the bottom of the strut 22.
ing a high degree of lateral and longitudinal stability. Other braces may be provided if desired to impart rigidity.
When disturbed from its normal free glide path as by a The lower ends of the struts 20 are braced by a U-shaped
gust of wind, it will return to its free glide attitude in not tube 25 extending forwardly of the wing and the lower
more than two highly damped oscillations. Lateral ends of the struts 22 are joined by a similar U-shaped
stability is attained by providing a suitable wing dihedral. 30 tube 26 extending rear Wardly of the wing to provide clear
Longitudinal stability is attained by locating the weight ance for the rider.
of the rider at a predetermined point on the wing chord A support bar 27 extends between the diagonal braces
and suspending the rider from a pivot point so chosen that 24 at a point located 28% of the distance along the
the center of gravity is located below the center of lift chord 21 from the leading edge of the wing as shown in
by the required amount to provide a righting moment tend- 35 FIG. 5. A seat in the form of a U-shaped tube 28 is
ing to return the glider to its free glide attitude whenever pivoted to the support bar 27 so that arider seated in
the glide angle is disturbed. The pivotal suspension of the swinging seat always hangs vertically downwardly
the rider not only causes the weight to be applied con- regardless of the pitch angle of the glider. Straps 29.
stantly at the predetermined pivot point for producing the are also mounted on the support bar 27 to permit a rider
righting moment but also provides a safety factor as it pre- 40 to support his Weight by his hands if he so desires. A
vents the rider from being thrown forward or backward pair of braces 3 and 32 extend laterally from the bot
due to a sudden change in the pitch angle of the glider. tom of the strut 22 to about the midpoint of the wing
The nature of the invention will be better understood spans. -
from the following description, taken in connection with A stabilizer 35 is formed by camber tubes 36 joined at
the accompanying drawings in which a specific embodi- 45 their leading ends by tube 37 and at their trailing ends
ment has been set forth for purposes of illustration. by a tube 38 to form a framework which is covered by a
In the drawings: wing fabric 39 as in the case of the wing. Rudders 40
FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a glider embodying the which may be formed of sheet aluminum for example are
invention; rigidly secured at the tips of the stabilizer 35. The sta
FIG. 2 is a broken top plan view of the glider; so bilizer is carried by tubes 41 which form an extension of
FIG. 3 is an enlarged detail taken on the line 3-3 of the tubes 23 and bracing tubes 42 which form an extension
FIG. 2 showing the construction of the supporting frame- of the center camber tubes 1 and are attached to the
work; tubes 41 at a point in advance of the stabilizer.
FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3; The support bar 27 is located at a point so selected that
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the relationship of the
various components of the glider;
55 the Weight of the rider is shifted forwardly and backward
ly in response to any upward or downward tilting of the
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the glider framework;
and
nose of the glider by an amount to produce a moment
which restores the glider to the proper glide path.
F.G. 7 is a detail of the support bar. It has been found that the support point should re
Referring to the drawings more in detail the glider is go main between one-fifth and two-fifths of the distance along
shown as having a wing 0 composed of a framework the chord 21 from the leading to the trailing edges of the
of tubular members of strong light weight material such wing when the attitude of the glider varies between 30
as aluminum which are joined together by welding, bolt- degrees above to 40 degrees below the normal glide angle.
ing or in any other convenient manner to form a rigid For this purpose a line 44 is drawn from a point on the
structure. In the form shown the framework comprises
a series of cambered tubes shaped to conform to the
Camber tube one-fifth of the distance along the chord 21
from the leading edge at a rearward angle of 30° and a
wing surface and spaced along the length of the wing. line 45 is drawn two-fifths of the distance along the chord
The tubes 1 are joined at their leading ends to a tube 12 21 from the leading edge from a point on the camber tube
extending along the leading edge of the wing 10 and at at a forward angle of 40. These lines are found to cross
their trailing ends to a tube 13 extending along the trail- to the
ing edge of the wing. A tapered strip 14 is disposed in
at a chord
point 462i.which lies on a yertical at the 28% point in
The support bar 27 is positioned at this
back of the tube 3 to shape the trailing edge of the wing. point and when so located causes the riders weight to
 3,083,933
3 4.
automatically serve as a stabilizing force to maintain the
glider on its proper glide path without requiring any con
trol on the part of the rider.
In use the water skier carries the glider by holding the
support bar 27 and when he reaches the proper speed
the glider will lift him from the surface of the water. He
may then seat himself in the swing seat 28 or hang from
the straps 29 as he desires. He will remain aloft as long
as the towing speed is maintained and will descend when
the speed is reduced. Should the towing force be inter
rupted as by the stopping of the towing boat or by the
breakage or release of the towing cable the glider will
immediately assume the free glide attitude and will re
tain this attitude until the rider is returned to the surface
of the water. Should the glider be disturbed meanwhile
as by a gust of wind the rider's Weight will restore it to
the proper glide path within not over two highly damped
oscillations without requiring the exercise of any control
or skill on the part of the rider.
What is claimed is:
1. A glider for water skiing or the like comprising a
rigid air foil and a stabilizer mounted and supported by
a supporting framework to form a rigid unit, a truss
mounted below said framework and a transverse support
bar carried by said truss, means pivotally suspending a
rider from said support bar, said air foil having an open
ing for the rider above said support bar, said bar being
located at about the intersection of the first line drawn
from a point on the airfoil one-fifth of the distance from
the leading edge thereof at a rearward angle of about 30
degrees to the vertical and a second line drawn from a
point on the air foil about two fifths of the distance from
the leading edge thereof at a forward angle of about 40
degrees to the vertical, said point being adapted to pro
duce a righting moment whenever the pitch angle of the
glider is disturbed from its proper glide path.
2. A glider for water skiing or the like comprising a
wing composed of a rigid framework of light weight tubu
lar material and an air foil covering said framework on
both sides, said air foil being impervious to water where
by said wing is water buoyant, a stabilizer of similar con
struction rigidly attached to said wing, said stabilizer
carrying a pair of sheet metal fixed rudders, a truss of
light Weight tubing mounted below said wing and carry
ing a transverse support bar, means for pivotally suspend
ing a rider from said support bar, said support bar being
located at about the intersection of a first line drawn
from a point on the air foil one-fifth of the distance from
the leading edge thereof at a rearward angle of about 30
degrees to the vertical and a second line drawn from a
0 point on the air foil about two-fifths of the distance from
the leading edge thereof at a forward angle of about 40
degrees to the vertical, said point being adapted to pro
duce a righting moment whenever the pitch angle of the
glider is disturbed from its proper glide path.
5 3. A glider for water skiing or the like comprising a
rigid airfoil, a truss rigidly fixed to said airfoil and a sta
bilizer fixed to said truss rearwardly of said air foil and
adapted to control the pitch angle of said air foil, a
transverse Support bar carried by said truss and a seat for
20 a rider pivotally suspended from said support bar, said
Support bar being located below the center of lift of said
air foil and at a point between one-fifth and two-fifths
of the distance from the leading to the trailing edges of
said air foil, said point being selected and adapted to pro
25 duce a righting moment for restoring the air foil to its
proper glide path whenever the pitch angle of the glider is
disturbed.
References Cited in the file of this patent
30 UNITED STATES PATENTS
881,837 Whitehead ------------ Mar. 10, 1908
1,230,620 Summers -------------- June 19, 1917
1,233,227 Harris ---------------- July 10, 1917
35 2,792,191 Perry ----------------- May 14, 1957
OTHER REFERENCES
“Aerodynamics of the Airplane,” Clark B. Millekan,
1941, pp. 141-143 and 149.
40 "Parade," Washington Post (Sunday edition of April
12, 1959), page 43 relied on.