Originally Posted by
GordonR_Cape
The Gossamer Albatross crossed the English Channel in 1979. One human pilot-power, about 0.4hp...
Yes... that was Bryan Allen, an approx10.5 stone racing cyclist and indeed averaged something between 0.25 and 0.4 HP its estimated I believe. He flew a lot further than the 22 miles across the Channel due to cross and headwinds too.
However, today, a lot more is known about cyclists output and think its rumoured 0.7 HP is possible for sprints. Phew !!!
Another fact, Paul McCready's Gossamer Condor which won the £50,000 figure of 8 Kremer Prize was optimised for about 6 ~8 mph I believe whereas Albatross was upped to 10-12 mph to reduce the crossing time by reducing wing area and refining Condor further.
Power to stay airborne is of course I think proportional to speed cubed (equiv to minsink in a glider)
The Hatfield Puffin managed 900+ yards.. but wasn't really able to do a 180, well maybe not a 45 even? Ran out of runway eventually I was told.