The Windrider walkalong glider

Walkalong glider

A walkalong glider is a lightweight, slow flying model aircraft designed to be kept aloft by slope soaring in the lift generated by a paddle held by the pilot who walks along with the glider as it flies. Hands or even the forehead can also be used to do this...

 is a commercially available toy airplane designed to be flown by controllable slope soaring

Controllable slope soaring

Controllable-slope soaring is a type of slope soaring where a slope is made to follow the airplane in gliding flight, both sustaining and controlling the airplane's trajectory by modifying the wind in the vicinity of the airplane. A controllable slope is any object which can be used to affect the...

. The design was first invented, manufactured and sold by Tyler MacCReady, son of Paul MacCready

Paul MacCready

Paul B. MacCready, Jr. was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the Kremer prize...

. The same design appeared as the Air Surfer from WowWee for a brief period before being produced by the current manufacturer, Windrider Ltd. of Hong Kong. The Windrider is a flying wing

Flying wing

A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....

 design type of fixed wing aircraft.

See also

• Gliding
  Gliding
  Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word soaring is also used for the sport.Gliding as a sport began in the 1920s...
  
  
• Orographic lift
  Orographic lift
  Orographic lift occurs when an air mass is forced from a low elevation to a higher elevation as it moves over rising terrain. As the air mass gains altitude it quickly cools down adiabatically, which can raise the relative humidity to 100% and create clouds and, under the right conditions,...
  
  
• Slope soaring
• controllable slope soaring
  Controllable slope soaring
  Controllable-slope soaring is a type of slope soaring where a slope is made to follow the airplane in gliding flight, both sustaining and controlling the airplane's trajectory by modifying the wind in the vicinity of the airplane. A controllable slope is any object which can be used to affect the...
  
  
• Human-powered aircraft
  Human-powered aircraft
  A human-powered aircraft is an aircraft powered by direct human energy and the force of gravity; the thrust provided by the human may be the only source; however, a hang glider that is partially powered by pilot power is a human-powered aircraft where the flight path can be enhanced more than if...
  
  

External links

• Video of Tyler MacCready flying his walkalong glider on Scientific American Frontiers Flying Free episode
• Video on how to fly the Wowwee Air Surfer product
• Windrider Ltd. Flying Toys
• Ballast Modifications to Reduce Stall Speed of Windrider
• PBS Scientific American Frontiers Flying Free episode with Walkalong Glider