Taras Kiceniuk, Jr.
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Taras Kiceniuk, Jr (c. 1955 - ) was 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 Institute 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 the precursor to the modern rigid wing hang glider. In 2005 Icarus V will be 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 when his Gossamer Albatross.
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