David Barish, 1921–2009
Dec
18
Friday, December 18, 2009
David Theodore Barish, aeronautical engineer and parachute inventor, died on December 15, 2009 in New York City. He was 88.
His family announced his death, which was the result of Multiple Myeloma.
David Barish was born in 1921 in Passaic, New Jersey. He worked as a flight instructor, co-pilot for TWA, and trained as a fighter pilot in World War II. He worked for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Grumman as a test pilot.
In the parachute field he is best known for the Vortex Ring rotating parachute and the Barish Sailwing. A 90-foot Sailwing was developed for NASA. A jumpable 9 x 27 foot Sailwing was demonstrated by skydivers throughout the world in the mid-1960s.
He was a pioneer in parachute testing and foot-launched many of his designs. He has been called the “Forgotten Father of Paragliding”. Barish’s foot-launched slope soaring developed into the sport of paragliding.
In 2000, at the annual Coupe Icare international paragliding event in St. Hilaire, France, he was honored for his contribution to the sport.
Barish had his first tandem paraglide at the age of 79. In 2004, Barish was recognized by the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association with the Presidential Citation for his work.