A pedal-powered helicopter’s maiden flight of 50 seconds this week may not herald a new mode of transport for the envorinmentally-aware super rich, but it did take its creators one step nearer winning the Sikorsky Prize – $250,000 that will go to the first human-powered helicopter capable of flying at a height of 3m for more than one minute.
The Gamera 2 helicopter was developed by a student team from the Rotorcraft Centre at the University of Maryland.
Whilst it seems unlikely that pedal-powered helicopters will ever find a commercial application, the 50-second hover by Gamera outperformed the first attempt at powered flight by the Wright brothers in 1903, which lasted all but three seconds.
The Wright Flyer used an internal combustion engine to power its two propellers, but Orville and Wilbur Wright had a strong association with bicycles; their experience as bike mechanics led them to the conclusion that a good way for a flying machine to turn would be to bank like a bird – a skill that could be mastered in the same way a child learns to ride a bike.
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