Kremer prizes
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The Kremer prizes are a series of monetary awards, established in 1959 by the industrialist Henry Kremer, that are given to pioneers of human-powered flight. The competitions and prize awards are administered by the Royal Aeronautical Society's Human Powered Aircraft Group. [1].
The first Kremer prize of £50,000 was won on August 23, 1977 by Dr. Paul MacCready when his Gossamer Condor, piloted by Bryan Allen, was the first human-powered aircraft to fly a figure eight around two markers one half mile apart, starting and ending the course at least 10 feet (3.0 m) above the ground.
The second Kremer prize of £100,000 was won on June 12, 1979, again by Paul MacCready, when Bryan Allen flew MacCready's Gossamer Albatross from England to France.
A Kremer prize of £20,000 for speed was won in 1983 by a design team of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for flying their MIT Monarch B craft on a triangular 1.5 km (0.93 mi) course in under three minutes (for an average speed of 32 km/h (20 mph)).
There are currently three Kremer Prizes that have not yet been awarded, for a total of £150,000.
- a 26 mile Marathon course in under an hour (£50,000),
- a sporting aircraft challenge stressing maneuverability (£100,000),
- a local challenge that is limited to youth groups (under 18 years) in the UK.
