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#1
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human powered flight
Is anyone experimenting with human powered flight based on flapping
wing aerodynamics (hovering wing motion rather than soaring)? I have a number of ideas and would love to exchange thoughts on the subject. Some of them are as follows: Materials: light, strong, sandwich-layered foam like Voltec's mini-cell. Leg wings, Power tail or Body fin (like a ray). Wing shape based on rounded 3x5 rectangle with leading edge curled down and trailing edge curled up. Wing design using tapering Spirals intead of sharp angles. Crawl or Doggypaddle style stroke rather than Butterfly. Standing take-off, like a pidgeon. Figure "8" wingstrokes (no upstroke) so force is distributed over whole stroke. If anyone has tried any of these or has any coments, please contact me. |
#3
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In article ,
(patrick timony) wrote: Is anyone experimenting with human powered flight based on flapping wing aerodynamics (hovering wing motion rather than soaring)? I think Iccarus and Dadealus tried it. Leonardo Devinci drew pictures of his ornithopter. If you watch the start of "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines you will see short clips of ornithopters. They didn't work. One reason this does not work is because humans do not have the strength to weight ratio for muscle powered flight. Birds are specialized. Even their skeleton is porous so the bones are lighter. Bernadette |
#4
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Try this one has not been update in a while but you will find links
and videos Mostly japan has the most activity there REAL birdman rally was just held new records http://www.geocities.com/humanpoweredplane/ Worth planning a holiday around to see it, and you can walk along the beach and talk with the groups etc Roland |
#5
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: One reason this does not work is because humans do not have the strength
: to weight ratio for muscle powered flight. Birds are specialized. Even : their skeleton is porous so the bones are lighter. The human-powered planes that have crossed the English channel required something like 2.5 HP (about 2000 Watts). That's about the most efficient plane you can make that'll carry a person. Try peddling like 2.5 horses for more than a few minutes and see if you'd like to "land" yet -Cory -- ************************************************** *********************** * The prime directive of Linux: * * - learn what you don't know, * * - teach what you do. * * (Just my 20 USm$) * ************************************************** *********************** |
#6
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wrote in message ... : One reason this does not work is because humans do not have the strength : to weight ratio for muscle powered flight. Birds are specialized. Even : their skeleton is porous so the bones are lighter. The human-powered planes that have crossed the English channel required something like 2.5 HP (about 2000 Watts). That's about the most efficient plane you can make that'll carry a person. Try peddling like 2.5 horses for more than a few minutes and see if you'd like to "land" yet -Cory -- ************************************************** *********************** * The prime directive of Linux: * * - learn what you don't know, * * - teach what you do. * * (Just my 20 USm$) * ************************************************** *********************** You're off by an order of magnitude. The Gossamer Albatross flew on 1/4 to 1/3 hp. See "Gossamer Odyssey" by Morton Grosser for lots and lots of details. Tim Ward |
#7
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wrote: The human-powered planes that have crossed the English channel required something like 2.5 HP (about 2000 Watts). That's about the most efficient plane you can make that'll carry a person. Try peddling like 2.5 horses for more than a few minutes and see if you'd like to "land" yet -Cory More like 0.4 hp (300 Watts) or perhaps even a bit less, Cory. The best Olympic caliber endurance athletes max out at about 0.6 hp (450 Watts) of sustained power output. My 380 (or so) Watts got me to the to the US Olympic cycling trials in 1976 but I didn't make the team. At 50, I still storm my 30 year old racing bike over the mountains of north Georgia, but my extraordinary aerobic capacity went south about 10 years ago, along with my reading vision. David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com |
#8
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David O wrote:
I stand corrected. I recall hearing that number (1hp) on some special and thought it was extremely unlikely. You gotta admit that even 1/3 hp for a long time would be a serious workout. People tend to not have a feeling for how much power a light bulb takes until they work on a treadmill. : More like 0.4 hp (300 Watts) or perhaps even a bit less, Cory. The : best Olympic caliber endurance athletes max out at about 0.6 hp (450 : Watts) of sustained power output. My 380 (or so) Watts got me to the : to the US Olympic cycling trials in 1976 but I didn't make the team. : At 50, I still storm my 30 year old racing bike over the mountains of : north Georgia, but my extraordinary aerobic capacity went south about : 10 years ago, along with my reading vision. : David O -- http://www.AirplaneZone.com -- ************************************************** *********************** * The prime directive of Linux: * * - learn what you don't know, * * - teach what you do. * * (Just my 20 USm$) * ************************************************** *********************** |
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