Bryan Lewis Allen (born October 13, 1952) is an American self-taught

hang glider Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised, fixed-wing heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

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 The Kremer prizes are a series of monetary awards, established in 1959 by the industrialist Henry Kremer. Royal Aeronautical Society Human Powered Flight Group The Royal Aeronautical Society's "Man Powered Aircraft Group" was formed in 1959 b ...

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 The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

). 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 Tulare ( ) is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 68,875 per the 2020 census. It is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley, south of Visalia and north of Bakersfield. The city is named after the Tul ...

. He then attended the

College of the Sequoias College of the Sequoias (COS) is a public two-year community college in Visalia, California. The college is named for the Giant Sequoia trees native to the nearby Sierra Nevada mountain range. History College of the Sequoias was originally es ...

, and Cal State Bakersfield. , he was employed by the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

, working as a software engineer in the area of Mars exploration.

References

External links

"Martian" bio for Bryan AllenBryan Allen's home page
1952 births Living people NASA people American aviation record holders Tulare Union High School alumni College of the Sequoias alumni California State University, Bakersfield alumni {{Aviation-bio-stub