That's pretty sweet from a cyclist point of view. They're using some
pretty expensive technology in the cockpit, around $3,000 worth of
carbon fiber from Cervelo and others. Nice.
Luther KB5QHU Forest Park, IL
'98 ML320 "Max" (168,xxx mi)
On 7/11/2013 10:21 PM, OK Don wrote:
FYI --
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57593417-1/human-powered-helicopter-finally-takes-sikorsky-prize/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
Since 1980, the American Helicopter Society has offered the Sikorsky
Prize<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_I._Sikorsky_Human_Powered_Helicopter_Competition>:
a $250,000 reward for a functional, human-powered helicopter.
To win the prize, the helicopter must remain airborne for 60 seconds, with
an altitude of 3 meters (a little less than 10 feet) to be reached at some
point during those 60 seconds. It must also remain within a horizontal area
no larger than 10x10 meters.
Last year, it looked like the University of Maryland's Gamera II was gearing
up to take the
prize<http://www.cnet.com.au/human-powered-helicoper-breaks-record-339340335.htm>,
but two Canadians have scooped it up from right under Gamera II's nose.
Cameron Robertson and Todd Reichert of the University of Toronto's Vehicle
Design Team and AeroVelo hit up Kickstarter last
year<http://news.cnet.com/human-powered-helicopter-gets-off-the-ground/8301-17938_105-20063675-1.html>to
fund a vehicle called the Atlas. Consisting of four rotors connected
by
a massive frame, the helicopter is powered by a modified bicycle slung from
the middle.
Robertson and Reichert had hired a stadium for five days of test flights.
The successful flight didn't occur until the very last day. Reichert,
piloting the Atlas, remained airborne for 64.11 seconds and reached a top
height of 3.33 meters within a 9.8-meter square.
"In 18 months, this passionate team went from preliminary design to
achieving what many considered impossible; taking down one of the most
daunting aviation feats of the past century," the team said on its Web
page<http://www.aerovelo.com/2013/07/11/aerovelo-officially-awarded-ahs-sikorsky-prize/>
.
Video at :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57593417-1/human-powered-helicopter-finally-takes-sikorsky-prize/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
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