Bryan Allen
Hang glider pilot
About Bryan Allen
Born 1952.
Bryan Lewis Allen (born October 13, 1952) is an American self-taught hang glider pilot and cyclist. He achieved fame when he piloted (and provided the human power for) the two aircraft that won the first two Kremer prizes for human-powered flight: the Gossamer Condor (1977; the first human-powered aircraft that met the specified criteria of the first Kremer prize) and Gossamer Albatross (1979; the first human-powered aircraft to cross the English Channel). He later set world distance and duration records in a small pedal-powered blimp named "White Dwarf."
Biography Allen graduated from Tulare Union High School in Tulare, California. He then attended the College of the Sequoias, and Cal State Bakersfield.
, he was employed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, working as a software engineer in the area of Mars exploration.
Honors In 2025, Allen was inducted as an honorary fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.
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Important facts
People in Bryan Allen's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Bryan Allen's
Frequently asked questions
Who is Bryan Allen?
Hang glider pilot
When was Bryan Allen born?
Bryan Allen was born on 13 October 1952.
Sources & further reading
· DBpedia: Bryan Allen (hang glider)
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Bryan Allen. https://biography.guide/bryan-allen/
MLA: "Bryan Allen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/bryan-allen/.
Chicago: "Bryan Allen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/bryan-allen/.
Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.
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