Human-powered helicopter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A human-powered helicopter is a helicopter designed to carry at least one person but limited to using only what power is provided by the person(s) on board, usually by pedalling. A high power-to-weight ratio is needed, such aircraft must be light and must have efficient rotors. Efficiency here means that the rotors must generate great lift but little drag, because drag consumes power.

The Sikorsky Prize will be awarded to the first entry to reach an altitude of 3 meters during a flight lasting at least 60 seconds while remaining in an area of 10 meters square.^[1]

On 10th December 1989 the first human-powered helicopter, the California Polytechnic State University Da Vinci III, flew for 7.1 seconds and reached a height of 20 cm with two individuals steadying the craft.^[2]

The current world record for human powered helicopters is held by a craft named Yuri I, built by a team from the Nihon Aero Student Group (NASG). In 1994 it achieved a height of 20 cm for 19.46 seconds unassisted and unofficially reached 70 cm during a flight lasting 24 seconds. In Japanese the name Yuri means "lilly", a reference to the shape of the machine.^[3]