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The American Helicopter Society Igor I. Sikorsky
Human Powered Helicopter Competition

General Information

A prize of $20,000 is offered by the American Helicopter Society for a successful controlled flight of a human powered helicopter. This competition shall be conducted under regulations and conditions laid down by the Human Powered Helicopter Committee of the American Helicopter Society, and shall be witnessed by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the national representative of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI) in the U.S.A.

NOTE: The AHS has been advised by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that, in the United States of America, registration and airworthiness certification will not be required for machines built for this competition on the assumption that all flights will be limited to close proximity to the ground and will generate no interference with air commerce. All intending entrants are strongly advised, during trials, to hold adequate insurance coverage for all third party risks and to take every precaution against injury to people and damage to property. It is expected that competitors in countries other than the U.S.A. will observe their own national flying and insurance regulations.

The following links may be of interest.

• The Competition Regulations
• The YURI-1, from the College of Science and Technology, Nihon Univ., Japan, flew 19.46 seconds on March 7, 1994, setting the F.A.I. duration record for human powered helicopters. They're now working on breaking the 1 minute barrier.
• The Society of Allied Weight Engineers has two papers of interest to HPH enthusiasts:
  • S. Mourtisen, "An Aerodynamic and Design Analysis of the Human Powered Helicopter," SAWE Paper 1924, 1990.
  • A. Naito, "A Study of Human Powered Helicopter in Japan," SAWE Paper 1925, 1990.
• "Hover Story," an article about human-powered helicopters by John Grossmann, appeared in the July, 1988 issue of Air and Space Magazine. A short item also appeared in the Feb./March 1995 issue.
• The International Human Powered Vehicle Association home page.

See also:

• Patterson, William B., "The Design and Test of a Human Powered Helicopter", Proceedings of the 42nd Annual National Forum of the American Helicopter Society, Washington, D.C., June, 1986.