Human Powered Helicopter

[Ian Curtis]

On Wednesday morning a team from the University of Maryland will attempt to test fly their human powered helicopter as part of a larger attempt to win the $250,000 Sikorsky Prize. Should they get off the ground they'll be the third team to ever do so. The prize itself requires a 90 second flight and an ascent to 9 feet, which they hope to accomplish with a later design iteration. They look to have some seriously neat things going on, especially if you're a huge aero dork like me.

Promo Video (youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4y4xb2UYI)

Link to the team website (test flight sometime after 9AM on Wednesday (http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/index.html)

One Page Handout (http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/docs/2011-gamera-handout.pdf)

[JamesBrown]

On Wednesday morning a team from the University of Maryland will attempt to test fly their human powered helicopter as part of a larger attempt to win the $250,000 Sikorsky Prize. Should they get off the ground they'll be the third team to ever do so. The prize itself requires a 90 second flight and an ascent to 9 feet, which they hope to accomplish with a later design iteration. They look to have some seriously neat things going on, especially if you're a huge aero dork like me.

Promo Video (youtube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT4y4xb2UYI)

Link to the team website (test flight sometime after 9AM on Wednesday (http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/index.html)

One Page Handout (http://www.agrc.umd.edu/gamera/docs/2011-gamera-handout.pdf)

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2011/05/university-of-maryland-students-try-flying-human-powered-helicopter-60589.html

Per that article technical problems kept them on the ground yesterday, they will try again today.

However the article also says the pilot is 170lbs whis I find hard too believe.

[akoscielski3]

However the article also says the pilot is 170lbs whis I find hard too believe.

It says 107 lbs body not 170 :P

[JamesBrown]

It says 107 lbs body not 170 :P

With a pilot running both hand and foot pedals, the goal is for her 170-pound body to put out enough energy to get the 100-pound helicopter off the ground.



Still says 170lbs when I check it. I agree that 107 is much more likely.

[JamesBrown]

From the team website:

Late in the afternoon of May 12, 2011, in the auxiliary gym of the Comcast Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, the human-powered helicopter Gamera, designed and built by graduate and undergraduate students of the A. James Clark School of Engineering and piloted by biology student Judy Wexler, achieved lift-off of 3-5 inches and hover time of approximately 4 seconds.

[Ian Curtis]

From the team website:

Late in the afternoon of May 12, 2011, in the auxiliary gym of the Comcast Center on the campus of the University of Maryland, the human-powered helicopter Gamera, designed and built by graduate and undergraduate students of the A. James Clark School of Engineering and piloted by biology student Judy Wexler, achieved lift-off of 3-5 inches and hover time of approximately 4 seconds.

A video, if anyone is interested. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q70tM5sDQhc&t=03m)

It definitely doesn't look nearly as stable as the one built by the Japanese in the 1990s. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aR2CV1OeUdU&t=01m10s)

[Travis Hoffman]

LOL our shop teacher and one of his friends built one of these and had it hanging in Harding's wood shop for years. Never did get off the ground.