Flight Lab Limited Project 01 / Human-powered aircraft Experimental
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Project 01 — Human-powered aircraft

HPA / 28

A study in lightness. Air-filled spars. Tensioned wires. A single human at the heart of it.

Front view of HPA / 28: a 28 m wing arching up from the centre, braced by fans of wires to the pilot slung below.
Fig. 01 — Front viewRender from the structural model
Design figures (model, not flight data)
Span28.0 m Plank wing, no tail
Takeoff87.8 kg
Power239 W at the shaft
Cruise5.1 m/s
Propeller3.5 m, two blades, 148.5 rpm

Design note / 01

Strength, in tension.

Two inflatable fabric spars carry the wing. Fore-and-aft wire pairs brace each station to the keel and kingpost.

Interactive

Structural observatory

An interactive model of the aircraft: toggle the covering, ribs, wires and spars, warp the wing, and inspect the propeller.

Side view of HPA / 28: the pilot reclines in a frame below the wing, with the pusher propeller behind on a keel tube.
Fig. 02 — Side view

Status

Experimental design study. Progress will be posted here.

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