First Flights
The first officially authenticated take-off and landing of a man powered aircraft (one capable of powered take-offs, unlike a glider) was made on 9 November 1961 by Derek Piggott in Southampton University's Man Powered Aircraft (SUMPAC) at Lasham Airfield.,. The best flight out of 40 tried was 650 metres. The SUMPAC was substantially rebuilt by Imperial College with a new transmission system but was damaged beyond repair in November 1965.
The Hatfield Puffin first flew in 16 November 1961, one week after SUMPAC. The Hatfield Man Powered Aircraft Club was formed of employees of de Havilland Aircraft Company and had access to company support. Eventually its best distance was 908 metres. John Wimpenny landed in a state of physical exhaustion. His record stood for 10 years.
Puffin 2 was a new fuselage and wing around the transmission recovered from the original Puffin. It flew on 27 August 1965 and made several flights over a half-mile, including a climb to 5.2 metres. After Puffin 2 was damaged it was handed over to Liverpool University who used it to build the Liverpuffin.
After this date several less successful aircraft flew, until 1972 when the Jupiter flew 1,070 metres and 1,239 metres in June 1972. In early 1977, a Japanese aircraft - Stork - completed three-quarters of the figure eight course before grounding a wingtip.
Read more about this topic: Human-powered Aircraft
Famous quotes containing the word flights:
“A noble soul is not the one that can manage the highest flights but the one that rises very little and falls very little but always dwells in a free, resplendent atmosphere and altitude.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“Old man, it’s four flights up and for what?
Your room is hardly any bigger than your bed.
Puffing as you climb, you are a brown woodcut
stooped over the thin rail and the wornout tread.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)