Bill Moyes in May 2007. Photo: Robert Gray, Bill’s grandson
Flying Culture,  Pilots and profiles

The original Moyes Boy

Bill Moyes was one of the founding fathers of hang gliding and helped fire imaginations around the world in the early days of the sport. Tarquin Cooper looks back on his life and legacy.

6 December, 2024, by Tarquin Cooper. Main portrait by Robert Gray

One summer’s day in 1970 Bill Moyes stood on the rim of the Grand Canyon and started dropping little paper parachutes over the edge. He wanted to see if there was any rising air that might help him glide into the famous gorge. And that’s when he was approached by a curious ranger who asked what he was up to. Bill, a plain-speaking Australian, told him the plan. The response from the ranger was blunt: “Bullshit you are. This is a national park, not a bloody circus ground.” Bill was ready to leave, but then the ranger pointedly added: “I don’t believe you can do it.”

And that was all the motivation he needed to...

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