The HPA Notebook

Photo Credit: Alec Proudfoot Niall Paterson resides in Cumbria, U.K., and has been flying HPAs since 2016. He is the winner of the 2017 Icarus Cup, the 2018 Icarus Cup, and in 2018, he became the first winner of the Jacobson Figure of Eight Prize. He was also a member of the Aerocycle team which took the Team Prize at the 2017 and 2018 BHPFC Icarus Cup Competitions. Age: 42 Occupation: Commissioning Engineer Weight: 68 kg Power/weight ratio: 330 watts/68 kg HPAs flown: Aerocycle 3 # of flights: 25-30 First flight: Sywell Aerodrome, 2016 Longest duration flight: just under 3 minutes Longest distance flight: just under 1500m Most challenging flight: Distance around a Triangular Course Awards: 2018 Icarus Cup, 2018 Jacobson Figure of Eight Prize, 2017 Icarus Cup, 2017 & 2018 BHPFC Icarus Cup Competition Team Prize (Aerocycle) The HPA Notebook recently spoke with Niall, following his 2018 wins at the BHPFC Icarus Cup Competition held at Sywell Aerodrome. THN: W...

Photo Credit: Elanor Andreassen This year’s BHPFC’s Icarus Cup Competition, held at Sywell Aerodrome, saw Niall Paterson complete the Jacobson Figure of Eight course on his first attempt, capturing the Jacobson Figure 8 Prize in the first year it was offered. The ￡1000 prize was awarded to Paterson after his completion of 1.5 loops of the figure of eight in just under 3 minutes. The award, open to individuals and teams from anywhere in the world, is awarded to the aircraft that flies the farthest after one completion of a figure of eight with turning points set 350m apart. Paterson flew Aerocycle 3, a human-powered airplane designed and built by John Edgley. Aerocycle 3 claimed the team prize this year at the rally, and Paterson also won the individual pilot Icarus Cup this year, repeating his victory from last year. A video of Paterson’s history-making flight