About Us
Category: About Us
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Category: About Us
Moyes Delta Gliders
Hi there - welcome to Moyes and thanks for stopping by.
We’re generally not prone to extolling our own virtues, but we figure if you intend to launch yourself thousands of feet into the air in one of our aircraft, you might want to hear a little of our credentials, and how our single-minded commitment to the sport of hang-gliding contributes to make beautifully engineered and performing gliders with utmost durability and safety.
Moyes Delta Gliders is a Company solely dedicated to hang gliding.
We started back in 1967 - rich in history, yet focused beyond the future.
At Moyes, we’re combining vision, expertise and relentless testing to create evolutionary hang gliding technology.
We continually strive to lead the hang gliding world by developing hang gliders of the highest calibre, working with some of the best pilots in the world to ensure our products are stringently made and tested in order to improve their performance, handling and safety.
We’re modestly proud of our reputation for excellence and our standing in the industry – our combined experiences, knowledge and skills are manifested in every product we produce to give you the assurance you need to take flight with absolute confidence, every time.
Those experiences are both plentiful and pioneering – and arguably reckless on occasion!
Here’s a little of our journey to date…
It all started with The Birdman himself – the legendary Bill Moyes, when in 1967 he astounded aeronautical experts by flying his wing to 1045ft over Lake Tuggerah and set the first world altitude record – incredibly, only 6 weeks after he began flying.
Australian engineer John Dickenson had read of a wing NASA had developed to replace the steerable parachute for rocket re-entries and built the first flying wing that we fly today, with Bill as test pilot – at this stage being towed by a motor boat.
In 1968 Bill extended the altitude record to 2870ft on Lake Ellesmere, New Zealand.
This may have been enough for some but Bill had always dreamed of running to a rock ledge and flying away with a pair of wings. He was convinced that it could come true. It was just a matter of finding the right set of wings.
So, in 1968, with the right set of wings, Bill foot-launched his glider from Mt Crackenback in the Australian Alps, setting the first world record for unassisted launched flight, and from that moment on pioneered and developed the sport of hang gliding we know and love today.
Bill never anticipated when he first flew off the mountains that it would explode as a sport, but it wasn’t too long before friends began asking Bill to build them a hang glider. He made 12 gliders for friends in the first year, perfecting and refining as he went along and with 20 orders in the second year, Moyes Delta Gliders was born.
Throughout the 1970s, Bill continued to push the boundaries of flight, making the First Grand Canyon Flight in 1970. Then, having developed his wings further so they were capable of high speed made the First Aeroplane Tow in 1971, setting a new altitude record of 8610ft. And in 1972, after his water-tow altitude record had been broken by an American, Bill returned to New Zealand to raise the altitude to 4750ft and regained the world record. He also won the North American Championships despite recovering from a broken pelvis from an earlier accident and still walking on crutches!
1973 saw Bill set yet another altitude record by being lifted with a hot air balloon and dropped from 10,700ft – then gliding for a record 13.7 miles.
Finally in 1974, Bill retired from the competition circuit, to focus his significant experience and expertise on glider design and development. He still flies recreationally and is invited to every international event - and is involved with the organisation of many of these.
Bill continues to influence the sport and has gained worldwide recognition for his incredible contribution to sport and aviation, including this prestigious list of honours:
| Queen Elizabeth Anniversary Medal | Silver Medal | 1977 |
| Russan Aero Club | Bronze Medal | 1978 |
| Royal Australian Aero Club | Oswald Watt Gold Medal | 1980 |
| N.S.W. Hall of Champions | Plaque | 1980 |
| N.S.W. Government | Advance Australia Award | 1982 |
| Australian Sports Hall of Fame | Associate Member | 1992 |
| NASA Space Technology | Hall of Fame | 1995 |
| Smithsonian Institute | Invention Award | 1995 |
| Medal of the Order of Australia | OAM | 1998 |
| Australian Sports Medal | Contribution to Sport | 2000 |
Steve Moyes took over the competition reins in 1974 – an unenviable task, given the achievements of his father, yet Steve more than rose to the challenge to dominate the sport from the outset with performances that have re-written the standards at every event. Steve kicked off his senior career by winning the very first World Tow Championships in Florida in 1974. An event he won 5 of the 8 years of its duration and placing in the top 3 for the other 3 occasions.
Steve had, in fact begun his flying career at the age of 14, winning the Junior Australian Championships in 1968, and every year until he became a senior.
Steve placed 3rd in both the first unofficial and the first offical World Foot-launch Competitions, in 1975 and 1976 respectively, and in 1979 was invited to compete in the US Masters among the worlds top 27 pilots. He won this meet and repeated the win in 1980 to become the only pilot to win the prize twice. Incredibly, Steve went on to win the US Masters in 1981 with a greater margin than ever to create an almost impossible record of three straight wins at this prestigious event!
In 1980, Steve had set a European distance record, when he flew 115 miles from the Italian Alps into Switzerland and back to land on the Italian planes. He went on to break this record, flying a distance of 137 miles, while winning the Aero Gordo Cup in 1981.
Steve took the Gold Medal at the 1983 World Championships, following which the Sport Australia Foundation presented him with awards for The Best Male Athlete, The Best Single Performance, and The Best Team of the Year.
Steve continued to compete in every World Championship Event and was awarded Silver Medal in 1985 and Bronze Medal in 1988, which, combined with his Bronze Medal of 1976, make him the only pilot in the history of hang gliding to hold 4 FAI medals.
Not content with a European record, Steve set a new world distance record, flying 187 miles in a return flight from California to Nevada in 1986.
Steve has been a formidable presence in hang gliding competitions and the sport in general, placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd (usually 1st) in more than 65 prestigious competitions around the world over a 20 year career in competitive hang gliding.
He was rewarded in 1992, along with his father, Bill with a dual induction to The Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of excellence in representing Australia in sport. Steve for a 20 year history of competition wins in hang gliding, and Bill for his contribution to the development and pioneering of hang gliding.
Known as The Moyes Boys throughout the hang gliding world, it’s fair to say these guys made it possible for people the world over to live out Bill's dream and fly like a bird…
Category: About Us
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Address:
Unit 4/5 Clerke Place
Kurnell NSW 2231
Telephone: +61 (0)2 9668 8686
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