Gossamer Albatross II - Seattle, WA
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T0SHEA
N 47° 31.128 W 122° 17.936
10T E 552780 N 5263057
The human powered Gossamer Albatross I won the second Kremer prize by crossing the English Channel.
Waymark Code: WMFX0B
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 12/10/2012
Views: 15
The Kremer prizes are a series of monetary awards established in 1959 by the entrepreneur Henry Kremer for various achievements in human powered flight. The Gossamer Albatross's predecessor, the Gossamer Condor, won the first, of £50,000, and the Gossamer Albatross I won the second of £100,000 on June 12, 1979, powered and flown by Bryan Allen, an amateur cyclist. The crossing of the Channel, 22.2 miles, required 2 hours and 49 minutes. Both aircraft were designed and built by a team led by Dr. Paul MacCready.
The structure of the plane is of carbon fibre, the wing ribs of expanded polystyrene, and the entire structure is wrapped in a thin mylar film. Its wingspan is over 97 feet. The weight of the aircraft, without pilot, is an incredibly light 71 lb. The weight of the pilot is over twice that of the aircraft. Due to its inherently greater efficiency a canard configuration was used, with the large horizontal stabilizer well ahead of the wing and a "pusher" prop behind the wing. The pilot powers the plane by means of foot pedals geared to the large propellor, bicycle style, while guiding the craft.
Museum of Flight:
"The Albatross II on display was built as a backup to the record-breaking Albatross aircraft. Except for some minor design changes, this craft is identical to the Albatross that flew across the Channel. The Albatross II later took part in NASA-funded low speed stability tests and was the first human-powered aircraft to make a controlled flight inside an enclosed structure -- the Houston Astrodome."