Francis Rogallo and his flexible wing concept

 This is the last picture I'll use from the LIFE Science library book Machines. The caption reads;

"Flexible wings for many uses.

Francis M. Rogallo, a NASA scientist at the Langley Research Center, displays models of flexible wings which may have many military uses. The concept was developed at home, on weekends. Rogallo and his wife made one model from discarded curtains. The government took up Rogallo's ideas in 1958 and has invested nearly$30 million."

That's 1964 dollars. The many uses seem to have culminated in only designs for ultralight aircraft.