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 …
Icarus Cup Achieves New Records
Doing more with much less, British pilots at this year’s Icarus Cup follow in Paul MacCready’s aerial path, staging a highly successful weeklong demonstration of human-powered flight. Airplanes that fly on about a quarter-kilowatt for as long as the human battery can operate the pedals are not new, and significant records have been achieved over the years. The British have long been involved, beginning with the 590 meters flight by Derek Piggott on November 9, 1961 in SUMPAC (Southampton University’s Man Powered Aircraft – note the sexist terminology of the day). This was considered the first authenticated takeoff and flight by a human powerplant. He made 40 flights before suffering a crash that damaged a wing. To help foster interest in human-powered flight, The Royal Aeronautical Society formed the Man Powered Aircraft Group in 1959. Henry Kremer, an industrialist, set up the Kremer prize for a figure-of-eight flight around two markers half a mile (~0.8 Km) apart in 1959. It …