Halton Jupiter
The Halton ''Jupiter'' was a human-powered aircraft which established distance and duration records in the early 1970s. Background The aircraft was originally designed in 1963 by Chris Roper of Woodford, Essex. Construction by Roper, and others, continued through to 1968, when ill-health halted work. In 1969, a workshop fire partially destroyed the craft. In 1970, the remains were handed over to Flight Lieutenant John Potter, based at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire. Development and description The aircraft was rebuilt at Halton, by an informal group of RAF staff and apprentices, led by Potter. Some 100 individuals were involved with the construction, contributing 4,000 hours towards it. The aircraft was substantially similar to that originally constructed by Roper et al, but with a number of detail changes. The ''Jupiter'' was a single-place shoulder-wing monoplane, with a pylon-mounted pusher propeller. The wing's primary structure was a spruce and balsa spar, with the secon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Human-powered Aircraft
A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport. Human-powered aircraft have been successfully flown over considerable distances. However, they are still primarily constructed as engineering challenges rather than for any kind of recreational or utilitarian purpose. History Early attempts at human-powered flight were unsuccessful because of the difficulty of achieving the high power-to-weight ratio. Prototypes often used ornithopter principles which were not only too heavy to meet this requirement but aerodynamically unsatisfactory. First attempts In 1904, Scientific American published an article and a photograph of a bicycle plane built by Steward Winslow of Riparia, Washington. He attempted to fly his plane on 30 July 1904, but one of the wheels failed. An early human-powered aircraft was the Gerhardt Cycleplane, developed by W. Frederick Gerhardt at McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio in 1923. The aircr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Malliga 1
The Malliga 1 human powered aircraft was the project of Horst Josef Malliga. It is thought that it was the first successful Continental European human-powered aircraft. Design work began in August 1966, with the first flight taking place in September 1967. The aircraft was a low-wing monoplane, with a pod and boom configuration. The pilot sat in a recumbent position, and powered a two bladed pusher propeller, located behind a streamlined nacelle. Twin booms supported twin fins, with an all-flying tailplane located between them. Constructed from aluminium tubing and polystyrene, with plastic film covering. The Malliga 1 had a constant-chord wingplan, and spanned 20.00 m (65 ft 7in). As originally designed, the tailfins did not incorporate rudders, and directional control was made via two fins located outboard and underneath the wing. Lateral control was obtained by wingtip ailerons. With this configuration, and under human-power alone, flights of up to 150 m (487.50 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pusher Aircraft
In an aircraft with a pusher configuration (as opposed to a tractor configuration), the propeller(s) are mounted behind their respective engine(s). Since a pusher propeller is mounted behind the engine, the drive shaft is in compression in normal operation. Pusher configuration describes this specific (propeller or ducted fan) thrust device attached to a craft, either aerostat (airship) or aerodyne (aircraft, WIG, paramotor, rotorcraft) or others types such as hovercraft, airboat and propeller-driven snowmobiles. "Pusher configuration" also describes the layout of a fixed-wing aircraft in which the thrust device has a pusher configuration. This kind of aircraft is commonly called a pusher. Pushers have been designed and built in many different layouts, some of them quite radical. History The rubber-powered "Planophore", designed by Alphonse Pénaud in 1871, was an early successful model aircraft with a pusher propeller. Many early aircraft (especially biplanes) were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shoulder-wing Aircraft
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing configuration and is the simplest to build. However, during the early years of flight, these advantages were offset by its greater weight and lower manoeuvrability, making it relatively rare until the 1930s. Since then, the monoplane has been the most common form for a fixed-wing aircraft. Characteristics Support and weight The inherent efficiency of the monoplane is best achieved in the cantilever wing, which carries all structural forces internally. However, to fly at practical speeds the wing must be made thin, which requires a heavy structure to make it strong and stiff enough. External bracing can be used to improve structural efficiency, reducing weight and cost. For a wing of a given size, the weight reduction allows it to fly slower a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Human-powered Aircraft
This is a list of human-powered aircraft by date. See also *History of human-powered aircraft A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport. Human-powered aircraft have been successfully flown over considerable distances. However, they are still primarily constructed a ... References Further reading * External links Chris Roper's online book ''Human Powered Flying''Prop designer Vélair – Yuri human-powered helicopter – YouTube video [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wright Micron
The ''Micron'' was the second of two human-powered aircraft designed and built by Peter Wright, an engineer from Melton Mowbray, England. Wright had previously designed and built the Wright MPA Mk 1, which first flew in 1972. The low wing loading of that design affected the flight opportunities which could be made. The design of his second human-powered aircraft, the ''Micron'', began in 1974 with the intent that it be robust and practical; to this end, it had a relatively high wing loading, thereby increasing flight opportunities. It was also intended to be easily assembled and transportable in a glider trailer. The ''Micron'' was of conventional configuration. It was a low-wing monoplane, with a very streamlined fuselage and a V-tail empennage. The pilot sat in a recumbent position, pedalling a set of bicycle pedals, and powering a pusher propeller mounted on a pylon located near the front of the fuselage. Power transmission was by a cable/roller drive. The craft made ext ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft
__NOTOC__ The Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft (also known as ''Dumbo'' and later ''Mercury'') is a British single-seat man-powered aircraft built and flown by members of the Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft Group. Development The Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft Group was formed in late 1967 with members drawn from the British Aircraft Corporation factory and the local chapter of the Royal Aeronautical Society. Construction started in 1968 and the aircraft was assembled at Wisley and flown for the first time from Weybridge on 18 September 1971. The Weybridge MPA (which was named ''Dumbo'') was flown by Christopher Lovell for a distance of 46 metres with a height reached of 3 ft (0.9m). Only two flights were made at Weybridge and the aircraft was passed to another group at RAF Cranwell who renamed it ''Mercury''. Design The aircraft is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fuselage made from aluminium alloy tubing with balsa frames and covered with Melinex. The wing has a single ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paxton Man-powered Aircraft
The Paxton man-powered aircraft was the project of architect Tony Paxton, to create a compact human-powered aircraft, suitable for sports flying. It was a low-wing monoplane, but mounted on top of a tall undercarriage 6 ft off the ground. The airframe was constructed of metal tubing, with extensive use of styrofoam in order to create the wing ribs and fuselage formers. The wings were of constant chord and made use of the thick-sectioned high-lift GU25-5(11)8 aerofoil. The wings were also wire braced, and fitted with tip plates at each wingtip. Control was very similar to that of the Weybridge ''Dumbo'' machine; the cruciform tail featured movable control surfaces on both fins and the tailplanes, with lateral control being achieved by rotating each wing, in its entirety, around the spar. The pilot sat in the open air, in a reclined position, and powered a 2-bladed pusher propeller via a bevel-geared drive system. Initial tests with the aircraft resulted in a failure o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MacCready Gossamer Condor
The MacCready ''Gossamer Condor'' was the first human-powered aircraft capable of controlled and sustained flight; as such, it won the Kremer prize in 1977. Its design was led by Paul MacCready of AeroVironment, Inc. Design and development The Kremer Prize had been set up in 1959 by Henry Kremer, a British industrialist, and offered £50,000 in prize money to the first group that could fly a human-powered aircraft over a figure-eight course covering a total of one mile (1.6 kilometers). The course also included a ten-foot pole that the aircraft had to fly over at the start and at the end. Early attempts to build human-powered aircraft had focused on wooden designs, which proved too heavy. Very early attempts – notably the ' and ''Pedaliante'' – used catapult launches. In 1961, Southampton University's Man Powered Aircraft SUMPAC took to the air at Lasham Airfield on 9 November, piloted by Derek Piggott, achieving a maximum flight of 650 metres. One week later, on 16 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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MacCready Gossamer Albatross
The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a human-powered aircraft built by American aeronautical engineer Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of the English Channel to win the second Kremer prize worth £100,000 (). Design and development The aircraft was designed and built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted American aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion. ''Gossamer Albatross'' was his second human-powered aircraft, the first being the ''Gossamer Condor'', which had won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977, by completing a -long figure-eight course. The second Kremer challenge was then announced as a flight across the English Channel recalling Louis Blériot's crossing of 1909. The aircraft is of "canard" configuration, using a large horizontal stabilizer forward of the wing in a manner similar to the Wright brothers' successful ''Wright Flyer'' aircraft and powered using pedals to drive a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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HMPAC Puffin
The HMPAC Puffin was a British man-powered aircraft designed by a team headed by John Wimpenny, an aerodynamicist at the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was built by the Hatfield Man Powered Aircraft Club (HMPAC) on the company's premises in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. On 2 May 1962, Wimpenny, aged 39, piloted the Puffin at the Hatfield Aerodrome, pedalling to power the propeller, achieving a flight distance of , a world record which was to stand for ten years. The Puffin had a wingspan of . Puffin II An improved version of the Puffin was developed and built in 1965 as the HMPAC Puffin II. First flown on 27 August 1965, the Puffin II utilized the transmission components of the Puffin I in a completely new airframe. After it had been damaged, the Puffin II airframe was given to Liverpool University, who used it to build the Liverpuffin. Specifications See also * SUMPAC * List of human-powered aircraft References * Further reading *{{cite book, last1=Reay, first1=D. A., ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |