Human-powered hover bike wins coveted $250K prize

[Electric Monk]

Source: CBC

After 30 years unclaimed, Toronto team wins global helicopter competition

A long-elusive aviation innovation prize that has never had a winner in its 33-year existence has finally been claimed after a team of Toronto engineers built and then flew a human-powered hover bike.

The highly-coveted Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition — known as the AHS Sikorsky prize for short — was awarded for the first time in its history Thursday to AeroVelo, a Toronto-based engineering team made up of University of Toronto students, alumni and volunteers.



The team named their winning invention Atlas, and were able to have the aircraft climb 3.3 metres in the air for a 64-second duration before the pilot landed it gently about seven metres away from its takeoff point.

A video of Atlas's vertical flight shows one of the teammates pedalling a customized carbon-fiber Cervelo bike frame as four giant rotor blades constructed from light carbon tubes begin to slowly rotate, lifting him above a pair of engineers' heads. The test flight was shot in the cavernous indoor Soccer Centre at Vaughan, Ont.

(more at the link, including video)

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/07/11/toronto-hover-bike-prize.html

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Neat

[frylock]

1. is this legit, or is it like the hoax golden eagle video?

I have an inherent distrust of Canadians after that episode. also, how the hell am I supposed to fit that thing on the top of my car?

[dead_head]

4. haha

Good one

[Boxturtle]

7. It is legit.

This was covered in the April 2013 Popular Mechanics. The University of Maryland was on the verge of winning the prize, but it looks like they were edged out.

[DirkGently]

2. Sweet. I still want that other hoverbike thing though. N/t

Last edited Fri Jul 12, 2013, 08:06 PM - Edit history (1)

[madokie]

3. awesome

[Arugula Latte]

5. Yay, science!

Very cool!

[Hulk]

6. Outstanding!!

I want one of these while I can still pedal fast enough to keep it up in the air. Awesome!

[gordianot]

8. Human powered helicopter excellent use for a soccer stadium.

[IDemo]

11. But human powered helicopter hooligans are sure to follow n/t

[gordianot]

12. I understand soccer hooligans inevitable from watching such a boring sport. n/t

[Rose Siding]

9. What an elegant machine, like something da Vinci never got around to sketching.

I'd like to see a competition to musically score that video

[pfitz59]

10. Bravo Canada!

Makes me proud of my Canadian heritage!