On April 5, 2013, Todd and Cameron presented a TEDx Talk at Western University. Titled “Ingredients for Innovation”, the pair spread their ideas about creative thinking and innovation, and shared their experiences with achieving the impossible – in particular, sustaining flight and breaking land speed records by human power (equivalent to a power of a… Continue Reading
Take a Deep Breath … and Hold On.
At 12:43 on Thursday, June 14th, Atlas and its human engine rose to an altitude of roughly 3.3 metres, maintained flight for approximately 65 seconds and drifted no more than 10 metres. This is an unofficial account of yesterday’s events, and though we would love to say more, we will be awaiting official validation before… Continue Reading
Back In the Air: Flight Testing Resumes!
After a series of repairs and a few important improvements Atlas is once again ready for flight! We’ll be flight testing this week from Sunday, June 9th, to Thursday, June13th, continuing in our attempt at the AHS Sikorsky Prize. You can follow our updates online at: Twitter: @aerovelo Facebook: AeroVelo And if you’re in the… Continue Reading
Welcome to the AeroVelo 2013 Summer Team!
With the start of a new summer we’d like to welcome the new crop of students to AeroVelo! You’ve come on board at an exciting time, in the middle of a heated race for one of the biggest prizes in aviation history. This year there was a competitive application process for the summer program, and… Continue Reading
3 Metres Up and 3 Metres Down
The last month has been an extraordinarily busy time as we gathered up the pieces from a major crash and prepared for our next flight test. On March 15th Atlas climbed to a height of roughly 3 metres coming within inches of achieving the altitude requirement for the AHS Sikorsky Prize. Within seconds, however, one… Continue Reading
Friday Flight Plan
Tomorrow we’ll be making another attempt at the AHS Sikorsky Prize. This last week we installed small aluminum inserts to fix the stripping problem we had last week, and we’ve adjusted all structural lines to their final positions. We’re confident, collected and ready. Wish us luck! Below is a plan for the progression of flights… Continue Reading
March 8th Flight Summary
We know we’re close, and we know the helicopter/pilot is capable, but to clinch this prize absolutely everything has to go right. Unfortunately, yesterday we saw some very strange behaviour in one of the rotors and spent several flights trying to chase down the problem. We ended up figuring out that it was a stripped… Continue Reading
Flight Attempt Friday: Power Numbers
After two weeks of video analysis, minor modifications and weight saving measures, we’re preparing for another AHS Sikorsky Prize Attempt this Friday, March 8th. Since last time out we’ve managed to cut off an impressive 4.2 pounds, which, in concert with a few other modifications should reduce the low-altitude power by about 40 Watts. In… Continue Reading
Congratulations to the Pegase Team on the Flight of their Human-Powered Aircraft!
We would like to congratulate Le Projet Pégase (Pegasus) on the first flight of their human-powered aircraft on November 28th, 2012. Footage of their construction and flight has just been released on CBC Radio-Canada, and is available (in French) here. The project is featured 30 minutes in. Le Projet Pégase was started at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec… Continue Reading
How To: Epic Rotor Repair Video
Check out the new video post of one of the most epic repair jobs so far! Last Friday was an incredible day of flight testing: the rotors were balanced and trimmed with very few adjustments and controls were responsive and effective! We had to pack up early, unfortunately, because the field was booked at 3pm.… Continue Reading
