Icarus Cup 2021, Cross-Channel Race 2022

Dean Sigler Announcements, Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation 1 Comment

The British Human Powered Flying Club has huge ambitions for 2022, with its race across the English Channel and a 50,000-Pound ($70,800) grand prize.  This year, though, “We are pleased to announce that we have chosen Lasham Airfield as the venue for the 2021 Icarus Cup, taking place on 24th July – 1stAugust!”  Great to see again, these Human Powered Airplanes (HPAs) are marvels of aerodynamics and human endurance and have a grand history.  This year’s event, following a virus-caused hiatus, will be a welcome re-introduction to the most personal form of flight. Some Openings for New Talent The Club explains, “This year’s competing teams have been notified of the venue details already.  We are currently in the process of arranging marquees.” Those who wish to apply for membership in the BHPFC can submit an application and dues here.  You, too, could be pedaling above Lasham this year (not likely) or crossing the Channel next year in an airplane with …

A New British Club for HPAs

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

For the last six decades, the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) has overseen records keeping for human powered aircraft (HPAs).  They report, “The Man Powered Aircraft Group of the Royal Aeronautical Society originated in 1959 when the members of the Man Powered Group of the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield were invited to become a group of the Society. Its title was changed from ‘Man’ to ‘Human’ in 1988 in recognition of the many successful flights by woman pilots.” Mr. Henry Kremer turned the wistful dreams of many to serious competition by donating over 275,000 pounds sterling ($440,000 at today’s exchange rates) in prize money for achievements such as flying a figure eight around to markers a half-mile apart and starting and finishing 10 feet above the ground – won by Paul MacCready, the airplane’s designer and Brian Allen, the pilot.  The won their 50,000 pound prize on August 23, 1977, and scored a second win on June 12, 1979 by …

Lifting Yourself by a Disappearing Thread

Dean Sigler Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

The University of Maryland announced the successful 11.4 second flight of an American human-powered helicopter with a female pilot – now the National record holder and successor to the first female flight on such a machine – 17 years ago. In 1994, your editor attended a human-powered aircraft symposium in Seattle at the Boeing Museum of Flight. Paul MacCready signed my copy of Gossamer Odyssey and I was official observer (for Chris Roper of the Royal Aeronautical Society) of the first female-powered helicopter flight.  Ward Griffiths, a svelte young thing from a local bike shop, cranked the very similar (to Gamera) thing into the air for 8.6 seconds – a first and a female record at that time.  A Japanese gentleman had done 15 seconds the day before and knocked the O. J. Simpson investigation off the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  Flights took place in the Boeing 777 preparation hangar, while the big jet spooled up and taxied around outside. …

Something(s) Amazingly New Under the Sun

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

To share an idea of how packed with information and inspiration an Electric Aircraft Symposium can be, I’m still writing reports on the fourth annual event, even though EAS V is coming up April 29 in Santa Rosa, California.  This is the next-to-last blog entry on last year’s presentations, and as noted in yesterday’s press release for the event, 2011’s will have at least as many presenters and material. Tyler MacCready is the son of Paul MacCready, founder of AeroVironment, Inc. and inspiration for many human-powered, ultralight, and solar-powered aircraft over the last several decades.  This author was in England when Bryan Allen pedaled Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel, a breakthrough in what was considered aerodynamically and structurally possible.  At age 14, Tyler had been the test pilot for the Albatross.  Such experiences led to his early work in solar-powered aircraft, as he told attendees at the fourth annual Electric Aircraft Symposium. Tyler was there as part of AeroVironment’s …