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For those captivated by the possibilities of human-powered transportation, the goal is glamorous: flying a human-powered helicopter for at least 60 seconds, reaching a height of three metres at least once during the flight. The reward itself, offered by the American Helicopter Society, has broader appeal: the highly-competitive $250,000 Igor I. Sikorsky Prize, named for the pioneering Russian-American aviator. (via Human-powered helicopter: Toronto engineers aiming to win elusive Sikorsky flight prize - thestar.com) If the helicopter’s specifications are pinpoint accurate, optimizations perfect and the team’s pride of purpose operates at full throttle — indeed if all goes according to plan and they soar to three metres — they might just accomplish a feat to which no one has come close in the Sikorsky Prize’s 32-year history. But Toronto-based AeroVelo, the engineering collective behind the project, dubbed Atlas, faces stiff competition. TheUniversity of Maryland’s Gamera IIhelicopter set a U.S. flight record of 49.9 seconds last June and is also expected to test for the prize later this month. Until this year, no team had got their human-powered helicopter off the ground since 1994. With AeroVelo ready to test this week, never before have two teams been in this tight a competition for the elusive prize. “We would definitely like to be first,” said Atlas’ 25-year-old chief structural engineer, Cameron Robertson. “The fact that there has been this competition is really a driver. We’ve been keeping a closer eye on (Maryland). We can’t afford mistakes.” AeroVelo will not reveal design specs or allow photographs of the assembled helicopter. Maryland, which publishes pictures, video and design features online, takes a softer stance. “If (AeroVelo is) smart and they can pick up what we’ve done, then they deserve to be number one; I don’t think we ever thought about competition,” said Inderjit Chopra, director of the university’s Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center. The bicycle that might.. :)

For those captivated by the possibilities of human-powered transportation, the goal is glamorous: flying a human-powered helicopter for at least 60 seconds, reaching a height of three metres at least once during the flight. The reward itself, offered by the American Helicopter Society, has broader appeal: the highly-competitive $250,000 Igor I. Sikorsky Prize, named for the pioneering Russian-American aviator. (via Human-powered helicopter: Toronto engineers aiming to win elusive Sikorsky flight prize - thestar.com)

  • If the helicopter’s specifications are pinpoint accurate, optimizations perfect and the team’s pride of purpose operates at full throttle — indeed if all goes according to plan and they soar to three metres — they might just accomplish a feat to which no one has come close in the Sikorsky Prize’s 32-year history.
  • But Toronto-based AeroVelo, the engineering collective behind the project, dubbed Atlas, faces stiff competition. TheUniversity of Maryland’s Gamera IIhelicopter set a U.S. flight record of 49.9 seconds last June and is also expected to test for the prize later this month.
  • Until this year, no team had got their human-powered helicopter off the ground since 1994. With AeroVelo ready to test this week, never before have two teams been in this tight a competition for the elusive prize.
  • “We would definitely like to be first,” said Atlas’ 25-year-old chief structural engineer, Cameron Robertson. “The fact that there has been this competition is really a driver. We’ve been keeping a closer eye on (Maryland). We can’t afford mistakes.”
  • AeroVelo will not reveal design specs or allow photographs of the assembled helicopter.
  • Maryland, which publishes pictures, video and design features online, takes a softer stance. “If (AeroVelo is) smart and they can pick up what we’ve done, then they deserve to be number one; I don’t think we ever thought about competition,” said Inderjit Chopra, director of the university’s Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center.

The bicycle that might.. :)

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