Welcome to the HPA Notebook

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Human powered flight has captured man's imagination since the mythological times of Ancient Greece. The elusive goal of Leonardo Da Vinci, flying under one's own power, continues to intrigue and inspire mankind.

This blog is devoted to human powered aircraft (HPAs), past, present and future. In the tradition of the inventor's notebook, the HPA Notebook documents the history of HPAs; examines current flying HPAs, their construction, designers/builders and pilots; and delves into the future of the art, science and sport.

Whether you build, dream, spectate, fly or hope to fly, welcome to the HPA Notebook!

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This Day In HPA History: Gossamer Condor Wins Kremer Prize, 1977

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Photo Credit: Don Monroe http://donaldmonroe.com/ On August 23, 1977, Bryan Allen flew the Gossamer Condor into HPA history at Minter Field in Shafter, California.  Built by Paul MacCready of AeroVironment, the Gossamer Condor became the first HPA to win the Kremer Prize.  Henry Kremer, a British Industrialist, offered the £ 50,000 prize to the first human powered aircraft that could fly a figure-eight course covering a total distance of one mile (1.6 kilometers).  The aircraft also had to clear a 10 foot pole at the start and end of the course.   Below is a link to the Academy Award winning short documentary on the Gossamer Condor.   Flight of the Gossamer Condor And here is a link to an NBC News broadcast on the Gossamer Condor:  NBC News: Flight of the Condor  Today, the Gossamer Condor hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.   Photo Credit: Alec Proudfoot
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The Icarus Cup

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In 2012, the Royal Aeronautical Society Human Powered Aircraft Specialist group announced their intention to award the Icarus Cup to “promote human powered flight as a sport and encourage wider participation, perhaps one day appearing at the Olympics. The idea of the Icarus Cup was conceived as a way to inspire more people to design, build and fly aircraft themselves and provide an environment for them to meet, compete and share knowledge.” The inaugural Icarus Cup competition was held at Lasham Gliding Society in Alton from 13-22 July 2012, and it commemorated the 51st anniversary of human powered flight at Lasham Airfield.  5 HPAs competed and the Icarus Cup was awarded to Robin Kraike, the winning individual pilot of Airglow, an HPA designed and built by John and Mark McIntyre.  Team Airglow also won the team prize. In 2013, the Icarus Cup competition was held at Sywell Aerodrome in Sywell, Northamptonshire. David Barford won the Icarus Cup in a plane he desi...
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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 compet...
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