Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “8 Human Powered Aircraft and Pedal Powered Flying Machines”.
[ Narrator ] Human powered flight is about as green as it gets. Add that to dreams of reaching the heavens and you get the top eight human powered aircraft. Number eight, the Snowbird. We as humans have spent centuries trying to fly before. Finally, developing the technologies needed to soar with the birds., And in this time there was a plethora of gadgets devices and machines that have been both failures and successes..
The Snowbird is the first human powered ornithopter, an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings to fly continuously.. The development team was comprised of students and faculty from the University of Toronto in Canada, Poitiers University in France and Delft Technical Institute in the Netherlands. Weighing just 94 pounds. The Snowbird has a wingspan of 105 feet, which is comparable to that of a Boeing 737.. Its structure comes apart in four pieces and is made of carbon fiber tubes, foam balsa wood and base wood.. It took its maiden flight at the Great Lakes Gliding Club in Tottenham north of Toronto Canada.. It maintained both altitude and airspeed for 19.3 seconds, covering a distance of 475 feet at an average speed of 15.9 miles per hour.. Although this aircraft is not a practical method of transport, it can act as an inspiration to others to use the strength of their body and the creativity of their mind to follow their dreams and think twice about what’s possible. Number: seven, the Aerosail., Adventurer and visionary.. Both of these can be attributed to Frenchman, Stephane Rousson, the designer and pilot of this entry on our list.. Surprisingly, his inspiration and love of aviation came from having watched the movie E.T.
as a child.. This motorless zeppelin, connected to a hydrofoil and filled with helium gas, is 52 foot long with a diameter of 16 feet.. It is designed to glide 100 feet in the air, with the pilot suspended, underneath in a semi reclining position, steering it with two tilting rotors on either side and powering the two propellers with his feet. Using a bicycle-like, contraption. Rousson has attempted multiple times to cross the English Channel in the Aerosail, but as of yet has not succeeded.
In 2014, he attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea, but it too was thwarted by the weather. Regardless. We consider this one to be a prime example of pure adventure and innovation. Number six. The Daedalus 88. Named after the mythological inventor of aviation and father of legendary ill-fated Icarus. The Daedalus aircraft were the culmination of work on human flight at MIT. Dreamed up in 1985 by MIT faculty and student engineers.
The Daedalus 88 featured a technical design that required aeronautical and design skills. Above and beyond the ordinary.. It was constructed with a framework of carbon fiber tubes, airfoil shaped for the wing, and tail elements was maintained with a thin polystyrene foam leading edge. Polystyrene ribs and a Kevlar trailing edge. Wing. Skin was Mylar plastic of approximately .3mm thickness..
The bottom portion of the fuselage and majority of the pilot’s seat were made of Kevlar as well.. In total, it still only weighed 69 pounds.. The Daedalus 88 holds the official FAI world records for total distance straight line, distance and duration for human powered aircraft set during a 71.5 mile flight lasting just short of four hours.. Unfortunately, the craft crashed during the landing..
Although the pilot was not hurt, the plane itself was broken into several pieces.. The decision was made to not continue the Daedalus aircraft line, leaving us to wonder what could have been achieved with another one. Number: five, the Dash PA.. Let me start off this one by pointing out that the name is an acronym for dead, simple human powered airplane..
The idea behind the Dash was just as straightforward. To take as efficient an approach as possible to building a human powered airplane that flies successfully.. It started as a for fun after hours, project by aviation, enthusiast, Alec Proudfoot that has blossomed into an effort involving hundreds of volunteers and over 12,000 hours.. The original design goals called for a weight of 80 pounds and a wingspan of 109.3 feet.. It was estimated that it would fly at 14 miles per hour. Like any design.
There are modifications made during testing, but at the core of it all the aircraft is essentially a super light. Recumbent bicycle with wings., The project’s first flight was in December 2015 at Half Moon Bay Airport. In California.. The aircraft flew for 764 feet while being piloted by Proudfoot., Although it never got higher than five feet off of the ground. It was still considered a major success. On one of the last flights. The aircraft was damaged, extensively.. It was rebuilt and flown again, but like any project of this magnitude, it remains a daunting, task. Number four, the Ruppert Archeopteryx., The word archeopteryx literally means first wing.
So it was only fitting that it was named after the feathered dinosaur that evolved into modern day birds.. The aircraft is a Swiss high wing pod and boom single seat. Microlift glider..
It was conceived as a foot. Launchable microlift sail plane with goals of a light, empty weight, low stall, speed, good maneuverability and good high speed performance.. The controls are conventional, with a stick for ailerons and elevator and rudder pedals.. The aircraft uses flaps for glide path, control which function as air brakes.
A ballistic parachute was also added for emergencies.. The aircraft can be rigged for flight in 15 minutes with minimal effort by only one person.. Originally, it was launched by foot bungee, aerotow autotow and a winch launch.. It has been landed on its wheel and foot landed as well.. Electric propulsion was added in mid 2014 to allow for self launching and a single charge run time of 11 minutes at full power.. As of February 2017, there have been 18 sold so if you’re interested give them a shout.
And who knows, Maybe this will inspire you to go even further and create your own human powered aircraft. Number three, the Gokuraku Tombo., A group of motorcycle designers, have put their Experience to the test in a new field by developing an ultralight airplane, that’s powered only by a simple set of pedals. Yamaha’s Team Aeroscepsy, comprised of 14 engineers and enthusiasts with an average age of 35 years old, developed a new plane from scratch just to break the World record for human powered flight., The Gokuraku Tombo, a phrase that means happy go: lucky has a wingspan that measures 117 feet tip to tip and a propeller diameter of almost 9 feet. It weights a mere 81 pounds. Due to it’s super light, polystyrene foam and carbon fiber construction., The aircraft can take advantage of thermo air currents, but doesn’t need them to launch and fly..
Spokesperson, Shinsuke Yano said the team is planning on having a professional mountain biker act as the engine for the Gokuraku Tombo aircraft, because you need to keep pedaling with power that is required for climbing uphill constantly.. Considering that all the assembly work and test flights for the aircraft are done strictly on private time outside normal work hours at Yamaha, you have to hope that this team has nothing but success in their endeavors. Number, two, the Gossamer Albatross.
The Gossamer Albatross, was designed and Built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready a noted American aeronautics engineer designer and world soaring champion., The aircraft is a canard configuration which uses a large, horizontal stabilizer forward of the wing and is powered using pedals to drive a large two bladed propeller.. It was constructed using a carbon fiber frame with the ribs of the wings made with expanded polystyrene.. The entire structure was then wrapped in a thin, transparent, Mylar film.. This gave the aircraft an empty mass weight of only 71 pounds. To maintain the craft in the air.
It was designed with very long tapering wings like those of a glider allowing the flight to be undertaken with a minimum of power.. On June 12 1979, the Gossamer Albatross became the first human powered aircraft to fly across the English Channel.. The flight lasted two hours and 49 minutes and covered 22.5 miles between England and France.. For this accomplishment, the Albatross team won their second Kremer Prize for human powered. Aircraft. MacCready’s team ended up building two Albatrosses.. The backup plane was jointly tested as part of the NASA Langley Dryden Flight Research program and was also flown inside. The Houston Astrodome..
This by the way, was the first ever controlled indoor flight by a human powered aircraft. Number one, the Jinker Flapping Wing., The Jinker, an acronym for jump induced kinetic energy rebounder was created by Niko Pietrek.. It was inspired by birds and experiments with zeppelins among other things.. The invention is a light portable flight apparatus with a fuselage, a flexible frame and downwards curved fixed wings..
The Jinker is started from an elevated place like a ramp or a hill.. The pilot runs toward the wind until the ornithopter is carried by the airflow.. He then jumps from behind onto the frame and he starts to glide first..
After that, the pilot initiates the flapping of the wings by gently jumping on the plane and slowly and rhythmically increasing the body acceleration and frequency.. The wingspans will range from 29 and a half feet to 49 feet.. The aircraft will have an estimated weight between 44 and 66 pounds..
It’S anticipated that the maximum speed will be anywhere from 42 to 44 miles per hour. After several years of continuous work. The current Jinker wing design is now built and ready to be tested and taken to flight trials. Pietrek currently has the Jinker featured on Kickstarter and is seeking funding for his prototype. .