2018 BHPFC (British Human Powered Flying Club) Icarus Cup Competition

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Photo Credit: Elanor Andreassen

This year’s BHPFC Icarus Cup Competition was held at Sywell Aerodrome, in Sywell, Northamptonshire, England from July 14 - 22. Two airplanes and their teams, Aerocycle 3 and Airglow, competed in the international competition. The Icarus Cup was awarded to the winning pilot, Niall Paterson, who repeated his win from last year. The newly-established Jacobson Figure of Eight prize of ￡1000 was also awarded to Niall Paterson after he completed 1.5 loops of the figure of eight. The team award of ￡1000 was awarded to Aerocycle 3, an HPA designed and built by John Edgley.

This year’s competition saw two airplanes, Aerocycle 3 and Airglow, compete in 10 different tasks:

Duration
200m time trial
1 km time trial
500m slalom course
Distance around a triangular course
Unassisted takeoff performance
Landing accuracy
Takeoff from grass
200m time trial with takeoff from grass
Jacobson Figure of Eight

Approximately one dozen pilots competed in this year’s competition. In addition to Paterson’s Jacobson Figure of Eight accomplishment, U.S. pilot Mara Jennings became the second woman to fly an HPA in the U.K., and she became the first woman to complete the 1 km time trial.


Mara Jennings 1 km time trial 


The BHPFC was created in 2014, and the annual Icarus Cup Competition has been alternating locations between Sywell Aerodrome and Lasham Airfield. Every year, the Icarus Cup is awarded to the winning individual pilot and the overall team winner is awarded a cash prize. Pilots earn points for each task and those points count towards the individual and team totals.

For more information about the BHPFC and the Icarus Cup Competition, please go to their website: http://www.bhpfc.org.uk

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