ABSTRACT
Since the dawn of civilization, we as a species have always wanted to fly like birds. We mastered the technique of powered flight only 100 years ago and have moved rapidly forward from slow flying biplanes, to turboprops, supersonic jets, and space flight; yet, the ability to fly like birds without engine power has eluded us for a long time.** Henry Kremer put up a prize for the first human-powered aircraft to complete a prescribed figure-eight course. Paul MacCready designed and built an aircraft named Gossamer Condor to do just that. He won the second Kremer prize with a similar aircraft named Gossamer Albatross by crossing the 22.25-mile British Channel on June 12, 1979, with human power alone (Figure 4.1). This flight took 2 h and 49 min and was powered solely by the pilot.
