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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 similar to a bicycle or tricycle: a pair of pedals, moved by the pilot's feet that turns a gear, which then moves a bicycle chain, which then rotates a smaller gear, which turns a vertical shaft that either turns a set of bevel gears, which turns another, horizontal shaft that ultimately turns a propeller, or in the case of earlier prototypes, an ornithopter mechanism. Often, a hybrid system is used; where during a certain amount of time pedaling, it would charge a battery, which would, at the push of a button, power an electric motor that is connected to the same horizontal shaft as the propeller. Human-powered aircraft have been successfully flown over considerable distances. However, they are still primarily constructed as engineer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daedalus Project's Light Eagle
In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin language, Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan language, Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix (mythology), Perdix, and possibly also the father of Iapyx. Among his most famous creations are the wooden cow for Pasiphaë, the Labyrinth for King Minos of Crete which imprisoned the Minotaur, and wings that he and his son Icarus used to attempt to escape Crete. It was during this escape that Icarus did not heed his father's warnings and flew too close to the sun; the wax holding his wings together melted and Icarus fell to his death. Epigraphic evidence The name ''Daidalos'' seems to be attested in Linear B, a writing system used to record Mycenaean Greek. The name appears in the form ''da-da-re-jo-de'', possibly referring to a sanctuary. Family Daedalus's parentage was supplied as a later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Engelbert Zaschka
Engelbert Zaschka (September 1, 1895 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany – June 26, 1955 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany) was a German chief engineer, chief designer and inventor. Zaschka is one of the first German helicopter pioneers and he is a pioneer of flying with muscle power and the folding car. Zaschka devoted himself primarily to aviation and automotive topics, but his work was not limited to them. Engelbert Zaschka is a prominent representative of the rotary aircraft, a class of rotorcraft systems - according to Zaschka. In 1928/1929 Zaschka developed and constructed the first collapsible and foldable small car (folding car) and in 1934 an early muscle-powered airplane. Biography Engelbert Zaschka came from a family of musicians, his father Wenzel taught zither and played in the Freiburg City Orchestra, his mother Emilie, née Rombach, was a singer; he was the second oldest of four children. He grew up in the Scheffelstraße and in the Bürgerwehrstraße, where hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southampton University
The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the United Kingdom. The university has seven campuses. The main campus is located in the Highfield area of Southampton and is supplemented by four other campuses within the city: Avenue Campus housing the School of Humanities, the National Oceanography Centre housing courses in Ocean and Earth Sciences, Southampton General Hospital offering courses in Medicine and Health Sciences, and Boldrewood Campus housing an engineering and maritime technology campus and Lloyd's Register. In addition, the university operates a School of Art based in nearby Winchester and an international branch in Malaysia offering courses in Engineering. In 2024, the university was the first in the UK to awarded a licence to establish a campus in India. Each campus is equ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Derek Piggott
Alan Derek Piggott (27 December 1922 – 6 January 2019) was one of Britain's best known glider pilots and instructors. He had over 5,000 hours on over 153 types of powered aircraft and over 5,000 hours on over 184 types of glider. He was honoured for his work on the instruction and safety of glider pilots. In 1961 he became the first person to make an officially authenticated take-off and flight in a man-powered aircraft. He also worked as a stunt pilot in several feature films. Early years Piggott was born in Chadwell Heath, Essex, the son of Rev. William Piggott and Alice Harvey. His father was a conscientious objector in the First World War, led the rent strike against London County Council after the war, and was a frequent speaker at Hyde Park. When his mother died, the family moved to Sutton, Surrey, where Derek attended Sutton County School. When he left school he became a trainee scientific instrument maker. He had been a very active aero-modeller and helped to form t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glider (aircraft)
A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders have small engines for extending their flight when necessary by sustaining the altitude (normally a sailplane relies on rising air to maintain altitude) with some being powerful enough to take off by self-launch. There are a wide variety of types differing in the construction of their wings, aerodynamic efficiency, location of the pilot, controls and intended purpose. Most exploit meteorological phenomena to maintain or gain height. Gliders are principally used for the air sports of gliding, hang gliding and paragliding. However some spacecraft have been designed to descend as gliders and in the past military gliders have been used in warfare. Some simple and familiar types of glider are toys such as paper planes and balsa wood glider ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SUMPAC
The Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft (or SUMPAC) on 9 November 1961 became the first human-powered aeroplane to make an officially authenticated take-off and flight. It was designed and built by Southampton university students between 1960 and 1961 for an attempt at the Kremer prize, but it was never able to complete the 'figure-of-eight' course specified to claim the prize money.Guttery 1969, p. 70. Design and development The aircraft was designed and built by a team of post-graduate students from Southampton University. Intended to compete for the £50,000 Kremer Prize (requiring successful completion of a one-mile (1.6 km) 'figure of eight' course) the project was funded by the Royal Aeronautical Society. The aircraft is of conventional configuration, with the exception of a pylon mounted pusher propeller, and is constructed from balsa, plywood and aluminium alloy. Originally covered with silver-doped Nylon the aircraft now sports a transparent plastic ski ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keith Sherwin
Keith Sherwin (1937 –7 April 2025) was an English academic and author of publications promoting human-powered aircraft and engineering textbooks. Early life and education Sherwin was educated at the Anthony Gell School in Derbyshire between 1948 and 1953. Higher education In 1958 he gained a Higher National Certificate at Derby Technical College. In 1961 he received a Bachelor of Science from University College, Swansea. In 1968 he gained a Ph.D. from Lanchester Polytechnic, Coventry. Career In 1968, he was appointed to the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro .... In 1969, he implemented a design project for mechanical engineering undergraduates in the second year of a three-year degree cours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pedaliante
The ''Pedaliante'' ( Italian for "Pedal Glider") was a human-powered aircraft designed and built by Enea Bossi and and credited with, in 1936, making one of the first fully human-powered flights. The aircraft successfully traveled as part of an Italian competition, but was denied the monetary prize due to its catapult launch. History Early development In 1932, Enea Bossi heard of an airplane which had successfully flown while powered only by a engine. This prompted Bossi to calculate the minimum power that a crewed aircraft would need to fly. The calculation yielded a value of approximately , which convinced Bossi that human-powered flight might be possible. During a trip to Philadelphia, Bossi tested the speed at which a glider would take off under tow. The experiment consisted of hiring a professional bicyclist to tow a glider. A spring scale was attached to the tow line to sense the force exerted by the bicyclist, the results confirming that a speed at which the nece ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land border, as well as List of islands of Italy, nearly 800 islands, notably Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares land borders with France to the west; Switzerland and Austria to the north; Slovenia to the east; and the two enclaves of Vatican City and San Marino. It is the List of European countries by area, tenth-largest country in Europe by area, covering , and the third-most populous member state of the European Union, with nearly 59 million inhabitants. Italy's capital and List of cities in Italy, largest city is Rome; other major cities include Milan, Naples, Turin, Palermo, Bologna, Florence, Genoa, and Venice. The history of Italy goes back to numerous List of ancient peoples of Italy, Italic peoples—notably including the ancient Romans, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Enea Bossi, Sr
Enea may be: * ''Enea'' (moth), a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae * Enea S.A., a Polish power company * Enea Bastianini, an Italian motorcycle racer * Enea Hodoș, an Austro-Hungarian and Romanian writer and folklorist * ''Enea'' (film), 2023 film *Enea, from the eponymous Aeneas, alternative name for Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ... found in Snorri ENEA may be: * ENEA (Italy), the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Sustainable economic development * ENEA AB, a Swedish information technology company {{Disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catapult
A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden release of stored potential energy to propel its payload. Most convert Tension (mechanics), tension or Torsion (mechanics), torsion energy that was more slowly and manually built up within the device before release, via springs, bows, twisted rope, elastic, or any of numerous other materials and mechanisms which allow the catapult to launch a projectile such as rocks, cannon balls, or debris. During wars in the ancient times, the catapult was usually known to be the strongest heavy weaponry. In modern times the term can apply to devices ranging from a simple hand-held implement (also called a "slingshot") to a mechanism for Aircraft catapult, launching aircraft from a ship. The earliest catapults date to at least the 7th century BC, with Kin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (), is the second largest city of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is the sixth-most populous city in the area of former East Germany after (East) Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Magdeburg as well as the 31st-largest city of Germany. With around 226,000 inhabitants, it is less populous than the state capital, Magdeburg. With Leipzig, the largest city of Saxony, Halle forms the polycentric Leipzig-Halle conurbation. Leipzig/Halle International Airport lies between the two cities, in Schkeuditz. The Leipzig-Halle conurbation is at the heart of the larger Central German Metropolitan Region. Halle has been known by many names throughout its history. From the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''. From then until the beginning of the 20th century, the name Halle an der Saale was used, and still remains a more formal reference for the city. Additionally, from 1965 to 1995 the city was referred to as ''Halle/Saale''. Halle lies i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
