Country of origin:

Australia

Description:

Single-seat man powered monoplane

Power Plant:

One human cyclist

Specifications:

History:

For hundreds of years man has been interested in flight, and many have been interested in man-powered flight.  Attempts have been made by various means to achieve this but not many have been successful due to the amount of power required to allow a man or woman to achieve flight by lifting the machine and the pilot. One of the first in Australia was by Mr G S Richardson, a cordial drink manufacturer, bicycle repairer, and general manufacturer in Tasmania.  In 1908 he designed and built a glider which he attached by struts and flying wires to a bicycle, the pilot/rider pedalling at speed in order to become airborne.  Wingspan was approximately 9.14 m (30 ft).  An attempt was made to fly from a hill at the east end of Penguin, the rider being Dr de Witt Henty.  However, flight was not achieved and the machine crashed into Watcombe Beach, the pilot suffering injuries. A claim was made in the local newspaper at the time that this was the first flight of an aircraft in Tasmania. A photograph of the flying machine was displayed for many years in the Penguin Council Chambers.

In the 1970s a number of attempts were made overseas to build a man-powered aircraft, and one successful machine built was called the Gossamer Condor, which won the Kremer prize. It was flown with some success, later being developed to the Albatross which flew across the English Channel.  A few other attempts were made over the years in Australia but without any real success.

Initial research into a man-powered flight project commenced in 1985, and in 1990 a prototype of a machine known as the Skycycle was built by Technical & Further Education College (TAFE) students in Tasmania. This had detached ailerons and internal cable controls but it crashed after some trials whilst being towed by a motor vehicle during testing in October that year due to aileron flutter and the right wing tip tucking under.

In early 1992 Mr Ronald Sushames and a team from the TAFE at Burnie in Tasmania constructed a further prototype, this having received some major design changes over the first aircraft, including increasing the wingspan to 25 m (82 ft) and installing inset ailerons.  At this time the aircraft, as always, was controlled from a nearby vehicle by radio control as the three individual pilots who flew/powered the aircraft were not qualified pilots and only had to pedal the aircraft and drive the propeller to achieve flight.

Two flights were made in 1991, the longest being 190 m (623 ft).  In June 1992 a flight of about 300 m (984 ft) was achieved.  In that year the aircraft was taken to Melbourne, VIC where it was displayed at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon, making a couple of short demonstration flights.  In 1993 a new fuselage boom and cockpit were built in an attempt to save further weight and to increase the comfort for the pilot.  Wingspan was increased by the addition of wing extensions to 28 m (92 ft), the drive to the propeller being achieved by a direct gear drive to a chain drive system.  In this form it was successful, achieving two 800 m (2,625 ft) flights on 1 June 1993, these flights being terminated due to the length of the runway used.

These human-powered Skycycle flights were made at Devonport using female pilots, one of whom was M/s Marion Taylor, who took over piloting from 1992, the aircraft and the pilot on one flight weighing only 90 kg (198 lb).  The other pilots were Amanda Smith from 1990 to 1991, and Susan Gray also from 1990.  The machine underwent extensive development and modification, one of the propellers being designed to turn at 120 rpm with a calculated efficiency of 98%, the pilot’s pedals turning at 80 rpm.  Sponsorship was provided by APPM, Tioxide Australia, Kendall Airlines, and the Southern Cross Network.

The team later went on to build an airworthy replica of a Bleriot.  It was expected further development of the Skycycle would continue. The original aircraft has been preserved at the Queen Victoria Museum & Art Gallery at Launceston, Tasmania, alongside a Desoutter II VH-UEE.

All major stress bearing structures were formed from carbon fibre, fibreglass being used for the cockpit tub shell and Kevlar thread being used as internal diagonal bracing ties in the wings.  Covering material was 3 mm foam sheets for the leading-edge surfaces of the wing, the rear upper wing surface being covered in 1.6 mm foam and the lower rear 60% covered in clear mylar.  Profilm covered the rear open surfaces of the cockpit and the windscreen was clear mylar.  Epoxy glues were used in the construction of the spar and PVA for wood and foam contact.

Development of a human-powered machine has continued around the world, the first of three machines built by the MIT Daedalus team, and known as the Michelob Light Eagle, on 21 January 1987 achieving a straight distance record of 6.83 km (4.24 miles) and a closed circuit distance record of 15.44 km (9.59 miles) in 37 mins 38 secs whilst flown by M/s Lois McCallin. On 17 February 1988 the Daedalus 87 crashed on testing and was rebuilt as a backup aircraft.  On 23 April 1988 the Daedalus 88  flew 115.11 km (72.4 miles) in 3 hrs 54 mins from Heraklion on the island of Crete to the island of Santorini.  This flight holds the official world records for total distance, straight-line distance and duration for human-powered aircraft.  All three machines were constructed at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Flight Facility at Hanscom Field outside Boston, Massachusetts. The Michelob Light Eagle weighed 42 kg (92 lb), and the Daedalus 87 and 88 each weighed 31 kg (69 lb).