The ambitions of a University of Toronto-based design team are about to take flight … again!
The team, led by U of T Engineering alumni Todd Reichert (EngSci 0T5, UTIAS PhD 1T1) and Cameron Robertson (EngSci 0T8, UTIAS MASc 0T9), is seeking to build a human-powered helicopter and be the first to win the Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Competition.
The American Helicopter Society International established the Sikorsky Prize in 1980. To win the $250,000 reward – the third largest monetary prize in aviation history – a human-powered helicopter has to maintain a flight duration of 60 seconds and reach an altitude of three metres (9.8 ft) while remaining in a 10 metre (32.8 ft) square. In the over 25-year history of the prize, no one has been able to claim the prize.
The team, known as AeroVelo, has good reason to believe they will be the first.
The core members of the team have been working together since 2006 when they founded U of T’s Human-Powered Vehicle Design Team. In August 2010, the team’s first project – the construction of the world’s first successful human-powered ornithopter – made aviation history by achieving the age-old dream of human-powered bird-like flight. Called Snowbird, the ornithopter sustained both altitude and airspeed for 19.3 seconds, and covered a distance of 145 metres at an average speed of 25.6 kilometres per hour.
The team is also responsible for U of T’s Human-Powered Vehicle, which reached 117 km/h at the 2011 World Human-Powered Speed Challenge, held in Battle Mountain, Nevada. That represents the ninth fastest time ever achieved and less than 17 km/h behind the current world record.
Now the team’s attention has turned to a human-powered helicopter, which has been named Atlas.
“An attempt at the Sikorsky Prize was the next obvious step for our team. The helicopter is where many of our contemporaries in human-powered flight are focusing, and it’s becoming a very exciting and competitive atmosphere. We’ve been driven to push the limits of engineering further than ever before,” said Robertson.
The AeroVelo team, which includes engineering students and professionals – many of whom are U of T graduates – has assembled in Tottenham, Ontario. They aim to have the helicopter built and flying by the end of August 2012.
To finance the project, the team has turned to an increasingly popular way to attract financial support: crowd funding. The notion is that a large number of people provide a relatively small contribution. In return, supporters receive perks and products. To be successful however, a goal has to be reached before the deadline for the team to receive the funds committed by supporters.
AeroVelo is hoping to raise $30,000 by June 16 through KickStarter, a well-known crowd funding website. That is less than 18% of the total budget of $170,000. To contribute to the project, visit the team’s KickStarter page.
Reichert, who also flew the Snowbird, will fly the helicopter. With an output of 772 watts per minute, he will be the most powerful athlete to ever fly a human-powered helicopter. Reichert explained that, “the Sikorsky Challenge provides an inspirational narrative: the project pushes the boundaries of possibility, showing that with creative solutions and innovative design we can do far more with far less.”
