The ''Gossamer Albatross'' is a

human-powered aircraft A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport. As its name suggests, HPAs have the pilot not only steer, but power the aircraft (usually propeller-driven) by means of a system ...

built by American

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

Dr Paul B MacCready's company AeroVironment. On June 12, 1979, it completed a successful crossing of 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 ...

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 The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation List of aviation pioneers, pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flyin ...

' successful ''

Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown by brothers Wrigh ...

'' aircraft and powered using pedals to drive a large, two-bladed propeller. The ''Gossamer Albatross'' was constructed using a

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers ( Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon comp ...

frame, with the ribs of the wings made with expanded

polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It i ...

; the entire structure was then wrapped in a thin, transparent plastic ( mylar PET film). The empty mass of the structure was only , although the gross mass for the Channel flight was almost . To maintain the craft in the air, it was designed with very long, tapering wings (high

aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a geometry, geometric shape is the ratio of its sizes in different dimensions. For example, the aspect ratio of a rectangle is the ratio of its longer side to its shorter side—the ratio of width to height, when the rectangl ...

), like those of a glider, allowing the flight to be undertaken with a minimum of power. In still air, the required power was on the order of , though even mild turbulence made this figure rise rapidly.

The crossing

Just before 6 am on June 12, 1979, amateur cyclist and pilot Bryan Allen powered the ''Albatross'' to the rehearsed speed of 75 revolutions per minute and took off from a point near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

, England. The Channel conditions and lack of wind were ideal for the crossing. However, problems soon began to affect the aircraft and pilot. Allen's radio failed for a while and he was only able to communicate with the accompanying boats by hand and head movements. In addition, Allen's water supply had been estimated for a two-hour flight, but headwinds delayed the crossing and his supply ran out. Without adequate water, Allen suffered from dehydration and leg cramps. With increasing headwinds, concern grew that the flight would have to be called off. With the coast of France still unseen, an accompanying boat maneuvered in front of the ''Albatross'' to hook it to safety. However, for the hooking procedure, Allen had gone a little higher and found less air turbulence, so he continued to pedal the aircraft and see if progress could be made. With a calming surface wind, Allen continued, and landed on a beach at Cap Gris-Nez in France. Allen completed the crossing in 2 hours and 49 minutes, achieving a top speed of and an average altitude of .

Versions

Gossamer Albatross II at the Museum of Flight

MacCready's team built two Albatrosses; the back-up plane was jointly tested as part of the

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

Langley/Dryden flight research program in 1980 and was also flown inside the Houston Astrodome, the first ever controlled indoor flight by a human-powered aircraft. The ''Gossamer Albatross II'' is currently on display at the

Museum of Flight The Museum of Flight is a private Nonprofit organization, non-profit Aircraft, air and Spacecraft, space museum in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is located at the southern end of Boeing Field, King County International Airport (Boeing Fi ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

. Alistair Cooke devoted some of his '' Letter From America'' broadcast of 15/17 Jun 1979 to Allen's achievement.

Prizes

For his work on the ''Gossamer Albatross'', MacCready was later awarded the Collier Trophy.

Specifications

Citations

External links

NASA's page on ''Gossamer Albatross II''NASA image of ''Gossamer Albatross II''List of displayed aircraft at Udvar-Hazy center''Gossamer Albatross II'' at Seattle Museum of Flight
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070928153337/http://www.donaldmonroe.com/gossamer_albatross_photography ''Gossamer Albatross'' photography by the team's photographer, Don Monroe {{AeroVironment aircraft AeroVironment aircraft Canard aircraft Human-powered aircraft Single-engined pusher aircraft 1970s United States experimental aircraft Individual aircraft in the Smithsonian Institution Aircraft first flown in 1979 High-wing aircraft Aircraft with fixed bicycle landing gear