Design Philosophy of Man Powered Aircraft

Abstract

In 1961 I assisted Mr. G. M. Lilley in writing a survey of the design and performance of man powered aircraft. Our conclusions were that man powered flight is just possible if the aircraft is carefully designed to give excellent aerodynamic characteristics, with a stiff, light structure and flown by a pilot whose power output is comparable with that of a National Amateur Cycling Champion. Such a machine would not fly more than fifteen to twenty feet above the ground and could operate only in still air conditions. The type of aircraft which emerged from the calculations was similar in general principles to those being developed currently at Hatfield and Southampton.In this lecture I propose to investigate some of the basic relationships which are involved in the hope that possible ways of obtaining further improvements may emerge. Since the conclusion of our survey was that flight was marginally possible, slight improvements might well go a long way towards making man powered flight possible.