Ho X "Piernifero" Hang Glider

The H X, also known as the "Piernifero" or "Alita", was described in an article by its pilot Rogelio Bartolini in the magazine "Vuelo Silencioso" in March 1954:

 "This sailplane has been designed by Dr. Horten to promote motorless flight by giving amateurs an inexpensive ship, simple to build and fly, with similar characteristics to the Grunau 'Baby".

 Also, the Horten X is inexpensive to operate, because if there is a hill available, there is no need for towing; just a little running and one is in the air.

 It could be defined as an intelligent combination of a modern flying wing and a glider of the 'pilot suspended' type that used to carry Lillienthal, Chanute, Pilcher, etc. in the last Century because it has the advantages of both types. With this machine, anyone who wants to have his own ship can make his dream come true. The total cost is about $100 in US currency.

To build it requires about 2.000 hours, assuming that the one doing the work is a complete amateur and not a specialist. Besides, with a few changes in construction of pieces, the spar table, jigs, etc., the ship could be built in a little more than 1.000 hours. It takes 5.000 hours to build a Grunau 'Baby' in similar circumstances. The room required to build it would be roughly 4 meters by 2 meters. Of course these advantages are more important to those who consider the economic aspect as their first problem.

 About the flights; I'd like to emphasize something that could be misunderstood the landing skid. 'L'Alita' was designed like 'Piernifero but when the skid is added, beside being able to take off by running downhill, it can also take off with a tow. We preferred the tow to finish the tests quicker. If we had used the other method, we would have been totally dependent on the wind. We have proven that with the 15 km /h wind, one can take off by running and this wind speed is easy to find on the top of a hill where the wind is faster than in the plains next to it.

 Controls: The only controls are the elevons. The directional control is obtained like this: when the /lever is inclined to the left, for exam pie, the elevon on that side is lifted and its leading edge goes out under the profile of the wing, producing drag turbulence which slows the left wing and thus makes the turn to that side.

 Structure: It is only one piece, with span, ribs and covering conventional. The span forms an angle of 45 degrees with the axis of the ribs and it has in the central part a hole through which goes the pilot. The pilot is placed in the ship with his chest leaning on a board and is held with belts so he remains In a standing position ready to take off by running. Once in the air, he operates the control which moves the board and then puts his knees and his feet in some supports made for that purpose. When taking off by towing, the pilot gets into the plane and goes right to the prone position, resting the glider on the ground on the skid. In this position, the only thing that breaks the line of the wing is the pilot canopy for his head, so it results in a pretty clean design."

 Note: "Piernifero" means "Leg Trained"; the aircraft uses the pilot's legs as undercarriage.

 A second 10 meter "Piernifero" was built by Scheidhauer. This far superior ultralight, would take off and land slowly enough to make the skid unnecessary. The glider was nearly complete in 1982, but not covered.

A 15 meter "Piernifero" (H X c), with a proposed 30:1 glide ratio, was planned, but never built.