The Rogallo Foundation would like to announce its Hall of Fame Class for 2026.
- Ken Brown
- Rob and Dianne McKenzie
- Ed Stein
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to be held on May 17th 2026 as part of the 54th Annual Hang Gliding Spectacular in Nags Head, NC.
All are welcome and invited.
Ken Brown
Kenny (Ken / Kendrick / Hey Brown!) Brown’s passion for hang gliding led to a career that has spanned four decades. It all started in the spring of 1980, at age 17, when he got an entry-level job as the shipping clerk at Flight Designs in Salinas, California. Flight Designs provided the perfect location to gain well-rounded knowledge of the sport–a factory location next to consistent dune soaring combined with working alongside, learning from and flying with legendary pilots, Marty Alameda, Jean-Michel Bernasconi, Graham Bird, Steve Brockman, Doug Rice and many others. All combined, this allowed Ken to swiftly learn to fly and develop skills to rapidly progress into racing with the best pilots in the region.In 2006 Ken transitioned from professional hang glider pilot and sales to solar sales to reclaim his weekends for the family activities. Ken still flies on an occasional basis in Northern California and is safety director for his local flying club. He satisfies his ‘need for speed’ by sail boat racing Lasers at his local sailing club and larger sailboat cruising in the SF Bay area.
Rob and Dianne McKenzie
Rob was born in 1955 in Ontario Canada, and Dianne a year later in the Los Angeles area. It would be 25 years before they would meet.
By the fall of 1981 Rob and Dianne began a lifelong partnership, raising Dianne’s daughter and building a life related to hang gliding (including paragliding in later years).
They soon found that providing tandem flights as a team was something they were good at that could bring a modest income. Dianne’s outgoing social personality and Rob’s technical demeanor made for a very balanced team so that tandem passengers found both a fun and relaxed atmosphere while also being reassured of the safety aspects.
In 2013, Rob suffered a skiing accident and could not fly for several months due to a broken shoulder. The couple hired 2 local tandem pilots but it became obvious that foot launching and foot landing in light winds was becoming too risky with this new business model. Rob developed a rolling launch/landing system with a quick setup light weight tail-wheel that could be retracted or dropped for use. Rob states that it’s hard to imagine a safer way to launch in light wind than simply rolling while steering and letting gravity do all the work.
The couple moved to Big Bear Lake CA and retired in 2019. Rob still flies a few times a year.
Ed Stein
Ed grew up in New York State and was fortunate to have the opportunities to pursue a variety of adventure activities. While in college and graduate school, he worked as a ski instructor, interspersing that time with riding motorcycles and racing road bikes. However, his true sense of adventure developed during his time in the military. He attended jump school and was part of a sport skydiving club, performing in military skydiving demonstrations.
He was also selected as a member of one of the first sponsored tandem clinics in the United States. Over the past 20 years, he has been actively involved in organizing tandem flying festivals in Ghana, West Africa, and was hired alongside a colleague to assess a mountain in Nigeria for paragliding potential. Beyond these festivals, he has contributed to training members of the Ghana military and police service in basic paragliding skills, with the goal of developing their capabilities as first responders rather than for recreational flying.
The induction ceremony will take place at the Jockey’s Ridge State Park Visitor’s Center in Nags Head, North Carolina, where friends, family, and fellow enthusiasts will gather to celebrate the legacies of these extraordinary individuals. Attendees can expect a memorable afternoon filled with tributes, anecdotes, and reflections on the enduring impact of Brown, the McKenzies, and Stein on the world of free flight.
More info about the Spectacular: https://www.kittyhawk.com/event/hang-gliding-spectacular/
More info about the Rogallo Hall of Fame https://www.rogallofoundation.org/hall-of-fame/
About the Rogallo Foundation
The Rogallo Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy of Francis and Gertrude Rogallo, whose pioneering work laid the groundwork for modern hang gliding and paragliding. Through education, outreach, and historical preservation efforts, the foundation seeks to inspire future generations of aviators and foster a greater appreciation for the history and heritage of free flight.
Media Contact:
GW Meadows
Vice President, The Rogallo Foundation
Email: info@rogallofundation.org