In situation you haven’t heard, the Sikorsky Prize, an aeronautical difficulty to develop a human-powered helicopter that can hover at three meters for a full sixty seconds, has been claimed. This extremely tough engineering accomplishment was accomplished by AeroVelo, together with a great deal of assist from the university of Toronto as well as a hold of business included in the style as well as manufacture of rotorcraft. This prize has stood unclaimed for thirty years, as well as it’s not from lack of trying; in the 80s as well as 90s, universities in Japan tried their hand at the challenge, as well as just recently a team from the university of Maryland had a go at it.

But as far as human-powered flight goes, a helicopter is just about the least effective method to get off the ground. Helicopters requirement power to supply their own lift as well as thrust, whereas airplanes only requirement to produce some ahead momentum.

From the bicycle-powered crossing of the English channel in 1979, human-powered flight has come a long way, so far that next the royal Aeronautical society will be holding the Icarus cup 2013. It’s a competition where teams of human-powered aircraft lovers will contend in difficulties measuring distance, speed, endurance, as well as landing accuracy.

No, it’s not an ornithopter from Da Vinci’s notebook, however human pectoral muscles aren’t powerful sufficient for that anyway.

Thanks [DainBramage1991] for sending this in.