Ride The Wind Day
August 23, 2025-August 23, 2025 -
USA, USA
Ride The Wind Day was created in order to commemorate the anniversary of the first flight that was powered by humans to be awarded with the Kremer prize.
It was on the 23rd of August in 1977 that the first ever course in a figure-eight was flown by the Gossamer Condor 2.
This had been set out by the Royal Aeronautical Society. This incident took place in California at the Minter Field in Shafter. The aircraft traveled a distance of 2,162 meters, slowly cruising at a speed of 11 mph.
Dr. Paul B MacCready built the Gossamer Condor 2. The pilot was hang-glider pilot and amateur cyclist, Bryan Allen. Today, you can find this aircraft at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, if you are interested in seeing what it looks like.
Of course, in order to understand this day a bit better, we also need to understand wind better. The wind is the flow of gases on a monumental scale.
On the Earth’s surface, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In a number of different sports, wind figures prominently, for instance, windsurfing, sailing, paragliding, kite surfing, kite landboarding, snowkiting, kite flying, hot air ballooning, and recreational hand gliding.
In gliding, wind gradients just above the surface, impacting both the landing and taking off phases of flight for the glider.
23 Aug 25
00:00 - 23:59
Ride The Wind Day
