Gary Osoba <<wosoba>>
writes:

Your piece
on Al Bowers highlights the tip of a remarkable iceberg which Al inhabits.
Your readers may not know that Al started in hang gliders, and his research
quest for the most efficient wing has taken him through a century of past
iterations and discovery, culminating in his own unique contributions. The
proverse yaw studied by Dr. Bowers with this model incorporates earlier findings
of Prandlt, the Hortens, American RT Jones, and even recent model work by Bob
Hoey. However, the model utilizes a geometric configuration that results in the
least induced drag for its design point when normal design considerations (such
as structural weight and bending moment) are included. This is of bigger import
than the proverse yaw, in my estimation.

Al from his Facebook page, flying what appears to be an early Seagull III.

Al has proven to be quite an historian as well, and has chronicled the
developments through a century or so of time, always giving credit where it is
due but usually refraining from taking any credit himself, although often due. I
first met him when we were both guest lecturers at MIT for the last Symposium on
Low Speed and Motorless Flight, arranged by Dr. Mark Drela. Other lecturers were
our friend Dr. Paul MacCready, OSTIV President Prof. Loek Boermans, then
Stanford's Prof. Ilan Kroo (of Swift fame), and a member or two of the MIT
Daedelus Human Powered Aircraft project since the occasion was the 10th
anniversary of its record flight. In my opinion, Al Bowers is at the top of a
very refined list of people worldwide who truly understand flying wings.

Al is a bright, creative, competent and humble man, who like many others of his
kind, loves hang gliders. I believe you met him when you and Dave Glover
attended my lecture on dynamic soaring research at Tehachapi in 2000. In recent
years, Al has been coordinating the lectures and presentations at that event,
taking over these duties from the remarkable Bruce Carmichael, the man who
designed and built Richard Miller's first Rogallo.

Al's slide show
here.