Taras Kiceniuk, Jr

Taras Kiceniuk Jr. (born c. May 14,1954) is a hang glider pioneer from southern California.

Kiceniuk began building hang gliders in 1971 while still in high school. At first he flew his gliders near Palomar Mountain where his father was curator of the Palomar Observatory but later began flying at Torrey Pines Glider Port in La Jolla. He soon moved from the traditional Rogallo wing design to a rigid flying wing biplane design he called Icarus. Icarus I is now at the Smithsonian Institution awaiting restoration and display. Kiceniuk set several endurance records with Icarus II. Icarus III and Icarus IV were abandoned in the design phase in favor of a monoplane configuration for Icarus V. Icarus V was a precursor to the modern rigid wing hang glider. In 2005 Icarus V was one of eight ultralight aircraft displayed at the Experimental Aircraft Association's Tribute to Ultralight Pioneers exhibit at their AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Kiceniuk was also a contender for the first Kremer Prize for human-powered flight. His human-powered aircraft was actually a ground effect vehicle that flew only inches above the ground. He later worked with Dr. Paul MacCready on MacCready's Gossamer Albatross.

The Kiceniuk Icarus I was a revolutionary hang glider designed, built and flown by Kiceniuk in the early 1970s.

At a time when most hang gliders used a flexible Rogallo wing, Icarus I used a rigid flying wing biplane configuration. Unlike other hang gliders of the time, the Icarus was not steered by the pilot shifting his body weight. Instead, Icarus I had two large rudders mounted near the wing tips, controlled by hand levers. These rudders made Icarus I much more maneuverable than other hang gliders. Pitch was controlled by the pilot shifting his body weight fore and aft. The pilot flew in a reclining position, rather than the prone position used by other hang gliders.

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