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The speed to fly is the optimum speed through sinking or rising air mass to achieve either the furthest glide, or fastest average cross-country speed. [1] Most speed to fly setups use units of either airspeed in kilometers per hour (km/h) and climb rate in meters per second (m/s), or airspeed in knots (kn) and climb rate in feet per minute (ft ...
Paul Beattie MacCready Jr. (September 25, 1925 – August 28, 2007) was an American aeronautical engineer. He was the founder of AeroVironment and the designer of the human-powered aircraft that won the first Kremer prize .
The aircraft was designed and built by a team led by Paul B. MacCready, a noted American aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion. Gossamer Albatross was his second human-powered aircraft, the first being the Gossamer Condor, which had won the first Kremer prize on August 23, 1977, by completing a 1-mile (1.6 km)-long figure-eight course.
Paul MacCready Jr. Two Kremer speed challenges won, doing 1500 m in 163.28 seconds on 18 July 1984 and 143.08 seconds on 2 December 1984. Bird Ornithopter: UK: Ornithopter: Bryn Bird: Two prototypes built, but no record of any flights. Bliesner 1 to 3: USA: 1978: Wayne T. Bliesner: Unsuccessful precursors to Bliesners more successful efforts.
A human-powered aircraft (HPA) is an aircraft belonging to the class of vehicles known as human-powered transport.. As its name suggests, HPAs have the pilot not only steer, but power the aircraft (usually propeller-driven) by means of a system similar to a bicycle or tricycle: a pair of pedals, moved by the pilot's feet that turns a gear, which then moves a bicycle chain, which then rotates a ...
The first version, known by MacCready as the Pasadena version, was a proof-of-concept aircraft which flew only once, in the parking lot of the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. The first aircraft carrying the name Gossamer Condor was known as the Mojave version , without pilot fairings and other niceties, flown at Mojave airport by MacCready's sons on 26 ...
Its successor, the MacCready Gossamer Albatross can fly as slow as 9.23 miles per hour (14.85 km/h). [1] It has a maximum speed of 18 miles per hour (29 km/h). [2] The Ruppert Archaeopteryx has a certified stall speed of 30–39 kilometres per hour (19–24 mph). [3] The Vought XF5U can fly as slow as 32 kilometres per hour (20 mph). [4]
The MacCready speed represents the optimal trade-off between cruising and circling. Most competition pilots use MacCready theory to optimize their average speeds, and have the calculations programmed in their flight computers, or use a "McCready ring", a rotatable bezel on the glider's variometer to indicate the best speed to fly.