When Arch tried to fly.

[Globalti]

Power to weight ratio is key to it; we humans are too heavy for our feeble strength. Last time I picked up a bird... it was a seagull, I was amazed at how light it was, presumably hollow bones and clever wing and feather construction achieve that. Chickens and other poultry can just about get off the ground but turkeys, bred for meat, don't make it (do they?)

We can of course glide and we can even sustain the glide if we fit a small engine driving a propellor behind our backs but I don't think humans have the ability to sustain flight for more than a few seconds before exhaustion sets in without spending a small fortune on aerodynamics and state-of-the-art materials, as in human powered aircraft. A human-powered helicopter has achieved 20 cm for 7.1 seconds while the record for a human-powered aircraft is 74 miles but it's not clear how much assistance was gained from rising thermals.

 

[Yellow Fang]

The main reason I wouldn't want to try is that I can't see how you could control it if it did take off. Surely it would tip over and crash.

 

[Arch]

The main reason I wouldn't want to try is that I can't see how you could control it if it did take off. Surely it would tip over and crash.

Presumably the inventor thought you could just lean, like on a bike.

It is nuts. If I wanted to really try and build one, I'd do a lot of things utterly differently.

But it was a hilarious afternoon putting it together and having a go....

 

[Hilldodger]

Is the Raymond Baxter? How could he take that contraption seriously? Surely anybody with half a brain would recognise it as hopeless?

Have you ever tried riding a Boneshaker bicycle? It's a miracle cycling took of, but if it wasn't for the 'shaker we wouldn't be talking on here now.

 

[Arch]

Have you ever tried riding a Boneshaker bicycle? It's a miracle cycling took of, but if it wasn't for the 'shaker we wouldn't be talking on here now.

Or indeed, without the Difference Engine and the BBC Micro....

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Oh - I do like the idea of a human powered helicoptery thing. But as someone said - we humans are too heavy and not powerful enough for flight really.

Better lay off the Srawberry Tarts, Arch, if you want to fly it

 

[Arch]

Oh - I do like the idea of a human powered helicoptery thing. But as someone said - we humans are too heavy and not powerful enough for flight really.

Better lay off the Srawberry Tarts, Arch, if you want to fly it

I hardly ever touch strawberry tarts! The cheek!

Chocolate on the other hand, or Citron....

Humans can fly. Like Kiwis.


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUUx5FdySs

 

[Night Train]

I hardly ever touch strawberry tarts! The cheek!

Chocolate on the other hand, or Citron....

Humans can fly. Like Kiwis.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=sdUUx5FdySs

Perhaps more like this?

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIDl8Wb1va0

 

[Wobbly John]

I have a video of of Arch helicopterizing.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5FN-dLwepQ[/media]

 

[ufkacbln]

Give Ian a ring....

See if he can retrofit this to your Dash:


[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrScfXqgTmM[/media]

 

[Hover Fly]

I have a video of of Arch helicopterizing.

[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5FN-dLwepQ[/media]

You could do something really useful with that. A giant pudding and cake mixer for instance.