Kramer Prize Successes By Gossamer Condor and Albatross
In 1967 Kremer increased his prize money tenfold to £500,000. At that time, the human-powered aircraft had flown only in straight (or nearly straight) line courses, and no-one had yet even attempted his more challenging figure-eight course, which required a fully controllable aircraft. He also opened the competition to all nationalities as it had previously been restricted to British entries only.
On 23 August 1977 the Gossamer Condor 2 flew the first figure-eight, a distance of 2,172 metres winning the first Kremer prize. It was built by Dr Paul B. MacCready. and piloted by amateur cyclist and hang-glider pilot Bryan Allen. Although slow, cruising at only 11 mph, it achieved that speed with only 0.35 hp.
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 straight distance of 35.82 km (22 miles 453 yards) in 2 hours, 49 minutes.
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