Canadian Student Flies Like A Bird!

Oh to be able to soar into the skies like a bird! Ever since the Greek legend of Daedalus and Icarius, humans have dreamed of taking to the skies - Sure they have succeeded using jet engines and other contraptions, but nobody has been able to do it quite like the birds - Using just their hands and feet - Until now.

On August 2nd, Todd Reichert an engineering student from the University of Toronto, made history, by completing the first human-powered flight. Using his own strength he flew for 19.3 seconds, covering a distance of 145 meters at an average speed of 16 mph, aboard a rather awkward looking wing-flapping plane, also known as, an ornithopter.

Dubbed Snowbird, the airplane cost $200,000 USD and took 4 years, 30 students and two civilian volunteers to build. While it has a wingspan of 105 feet, about the same size as that of a 737 Boeing jetliner, Snowbird weighs only 94lbs because it is contructed entirely from lightweight materials like balsa wood, foam and carbon fiber.

Flying it was no easy feat - Todd not only had to pedal with his legs going up and down like in a Stairmaster, but also, pull on the wings, so that they flapped at the same time - And, if that is not enough, it all had to be done at a speed fast enough for him to be airborne!

To pull off the final flight Todd took 65 test runs, trained for over a year to gain strength in his legs and, lost 18lbs! While the history making flight took place about two months ago, the Snowbird crew was trying to get all their data finalized and did not reveal it to the public, until this week.

The Snowbird of course is not a practical machine for transportation and will probably spend the rest of its life in an aviation museum - Todd and his team hope however, that it has inspired other people to follow their dreams, just like they did by finally bringing to life what Leonardo da Vinci had dreamed of, in 1493!

Sources: torontosun.com,article.latimes.com

HPO The Snowbird from U of T Engineering on Vimeo.