Manta Pterodactyl Fledgling

Jack McCornack, president of Pterodactyl Limited, developed the Fledgling by adding landing gear, an engine, and other improvements to the rigid wing Manta Fledge hang glider. Technological advances in low-cost and lightweight airframes and power plants during the 1960s and 1970s ignited public enthusiasm for a new kind of minimalist aviation. On July 9, 1979, John D. Peterson, Jr., took off in a Fledgling from Long Beach, California. On August 6, Peterson landed at Hilton Head, South Carolina. He had completed one of the earliest transcontinental flights in an ultralight aircraft, covering 5,152 km (3,200 miles) in 193-km (120-mile) hops.