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Human-powered gliders
I know that some gliders have small powerplants that they can use in
an emergency for thrust, but are there any gliders that are simply powered by the pilot? Is the thrust required to keep a glider in the air small enough that a human pilot could supply it for any length of time? They seem very efficient, so it occurred to me that a crank or pedals or something driving a small propeller might be sufficient to stay aloft in bad situations. Would it? -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. |
#2
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Human-powered gliders
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message ... I know that some gliders have small powerplants that they can use in an emergency for thrust, but are there any gliders that are simply powered by the pilot? Is the thrust required to keep a glider in the air small enough that a human pilot could supply it for any length of time? They seem very efficient, so it occurred to me that a crank or pedals or something driving a small propeller might be sufficient to stay aloft in bad situations. Would it? -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. No. |
#3
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Human-powered gliders
A crank or pedals or something driving a small generator might be
sufficient to keep the computer running until it can be safely shut down. |
#4
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Human-powered gliders
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message ... I know that some gliders have small powerplants that they can use in an emergency for thrust, but are there any gliders that are simply powered by the pilot? Is the thrust required to keep a glider in the air small enough that a human pilot could supply it for any length of time? They seem very efficient, so it occurred to me that a crank or pedals or something driving a small propeller might be sufficient to stay aloft in bad situations. Would it? -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. No, man power has only worked in extremely light weight gliders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossamer_Albatross http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Daedalus |
#5
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Human-powered gliders
On Jan 28, 11:10 am, "Casey Wilson" wrote:
No. OH MAN YOU SURE SHOWED HIM |
#6
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Human-powered gliders
"buttman" wrote in message oups.com... On Jan 28, 11:10 am, "Casey Wilson" wrote: No. OH MAN YOU SURE SHOWED HIM What? |
#7
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Human-powered gliders
"Richard" wrote:
"Mxsmanic" wrote in message ... I know that some gliders have small powerplants that they can use in an emergency for thrust, but are there any gliders that are simply powered by the pilot? Is the thrust required to keep a glider in the air small enough that a human pilot could supply it for any length of time? They seem very efficient, so it occurred to me that a crank or pedals or something driving a small propeller might be sufficient to stay aloft in bad situations. Would it? -- Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail. No, man power has only worked in extremely light weight gliders. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gossamer_Albatross http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIT_Daedalus A trained person could generate just enough power to keep the Gossamer Albatross in the air, which required 0.3 hp (200 W). The power of a sustainer motor of a glider equals between: 18-30 hp (14-22 kW), so this is too much for a human pilot to supply. |
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