How is manpower plane recently developping?

airplane insteads of aeorplane.

manpower drive.

Maybe with the increase in obeseity in the west, man powered flight is getting less likely!?

Del

There is a solar-powered concept aircraft in operation now. From memory, it has a number of electrically-powered propellers on a large wing, and the surface of the wing is covered with solar electric panels to pick up the energy needed to turn the propellers.

I don't know what happens when it flies through cloud.....

Easy. Have you not heard of a sail-plane? Some call them gliders. You need some way of getting it aloft, usually it is towed to an altitude of a few thousand feet and then you soar like a condor and use thermals (rising currents of heated air) to gain lift.

One of my instructors holds the US women's altitude record of over 33,000 feet. Many flights have had endurances of over 6 hours.

Another project is called the Perlin Project and was supported by Steve Fosset to set a new world altitude record of over 100,000 feet. I think they have exceeded 60K feet so far, all without power (except for launch).

There are also hang gliders, which can be launched by running down hills or off of cliffs.

this one has links to many human powered flight sites; http://www.thirtythousandfeet.com/human.htm i don't know if you still can't access wikipedia there, but if you can it has a good overview; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Powered_Flight

Humans did try flying emulating the bird with there own power centuaries ago , but failed may be due to availablity of the technology , we still do not have such materials and technology to fly from ground and carry certain distances and come down like say helicopter , even though there may be prototypes under developements with assists , bicycle analogy may be wrong because we have to overcome biggest force along z-axis that is gravity and requieres loads of force to get that lift , this is quiet dangereous even if available for personnel transport and even trained enough to get that air license , you require some artificial assistance from machines we can term them hybrid or dual powered . Gliders are different and are of entertainment and navigation interest

Yes, glider is not man powered aircraft. it flight under help of air flow and have to be carried into air by another machine, like plane or driver etc.

I remember, a successful man power aircraft was called "albetross" and finished a 8 format routine. and completed across english channel flight in last 80s.

but there are long ti,e havent heard any news about their developping.

none out there like to discuss this topic? use man power to drive a plane.

its pity.

Hi cnpower ,

I feel sorry for uninterest shown for this topic , but this is quiet dangereous , like i said before it cannot be compared to bicycle , you require enough power to lift yourself plus the weight of the machine plus special infrastructure to park and start/stop runway , you can park your bicycle wherever and can lift it and carry on for short distances , what are conditions required to lift , what are humans limitations , where do you get that thrust from human body which can almost lift 1/3 weight of there own body on ground , do not compare with sports personnel , these are average human capablity who may think about owning one , there is no wrong with dreaming possiblities and this may be good proposal but you have to consider actual scenerio and some possible ideas that seems feasable and put on this thread so you get responses......thank you

You are right, man has to pay more spirit to lift himself by hiself strengh.

the plane which flighted across english channel by manppwer 30 years ago was very looked like a bicycle. the pic I posted at 2 thread is only a solar energy flighter. I cannt find that original manpowered plane picture. but they are looked very like.

I thought after 30 years developped, the flighter must be modified largely.

I image there is somewhere and somebody still continue this project. but they havent yet seen the thread so far.

man alwarys dreams to fly in the sky by their strengh like a bird. may someday a wonderful invention make man fly freely , just like ride a bicycle on the ground.\

Lets wait and see

drived by a man bicycle like.

Hi cnpower:

Paul Macready...

This was an amazing achievement. Today, I think we could improve upon the pedaling dynamics, by making the person recumbent, which would also reduce frontal area. But even then, it would be hard to increase efficiency enough to make flight feasible in anything other than very calm winds, and by a person in very good condition.

This sort of thing has always appealed to me (I once built a sailboat for a world speed record, for example). The next step -- practical flight in a very light, very efficient aircraft requires about 5 hp, I think: about 5-10 times human output. (Even at 5 hp, the plane would be flyable -- i.e., safe near ground -- only in the very lightest winds.) Some people are working on battery-powered aircraft, however. Also, a sophisticated autopilot could help maintain control in gusty conditions, making very slow, low hp flight more reasonable.

Hi, Ken,

you post a very good thread respond to me. I vote you one poll.

Power plane, even tiny power plane can be arised easily than man power. most of people are interested in solar energy plane. when the nano plastic film solar cell is offering in this year, the plane will be more and more in the sky by diy

Macready's 13 year old son was the first pilot of this plane, the Gossamer Penguin. What a thrill that must have been.

From:

http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/Albatross/HTML/ECN-13413.html

The link below has info on more of Macready's solar-powered planes. The Solar Challenger was probably the most "normal" looking plane, with only a 46 foot wingspan. Although the (sub 100 lb) pilot for the Gossamer Penguin could fly this plane, its flight from from France to England was made with a 150 pilot (almost average weight for an adult).

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/news/FactSheets/FS-054-DFRC.html

Unfortunately, there are so many conflicting requirements for low powered flight: the wings need to be big for takeoff at low speeds, but they also need to be light. For safe control in gusts, higher speed is required, but that requires smaller wings and more horsepower. But even today, a self-launching glider could be built that would be charged from panels that would remain on the ground, and lithium ion batteries would provide 15 minutes power to climb to altitude.

I use to know a glider pilot whose wife would tow him (with a Jeep) down a strip on top of a hill in the Allegheny mountains. From just one such launch, he could fly over 1000 miles, making use of ridge lift.

In the france film about warII there is a shoot of several piloters drive a jeep through a hill top and then went into glider to get rid of germen arresting。