We're sure AeroVelo team members think every sleepless night and pedal push are worth it now that they can add the prestigious $250,000 Sikorsky Prize to their pile of bragging rights. They've completely demolished all the requirements needed to win the human-powered helicopter competition during one of their recent attempts. Atlas, their flying contraption, stayed in the air for 64.11 seconds, flew at a max altitude of 3.3 meters (10.8 feet) and never meandered beyond the designated 10 x 10 meter (33 x 33 feet) area. The University of Toronto's creation was locked in head-to-head battle with the University of Maryland's Gamera chopper for quite some time, but it's finally bagged the prize that had remained unclaimed for 33 long years. That's a tremendous accomplishment for anyone, especially for a project with humble beginnings, and if Leonardo Da Vinci were still alive, he'd extend a big congratulazione.
Filed under: Misc
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Via: Popular Mechanics
Source: AeroVelo
Why send humans into dangerous territory when you can send unmanned helicopters and six-wheelers instead? In an impressive mashup of autonomous transportation, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and aircraft manufacturer Sikorsky have shown the two veh...
