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from the waiting-to-see-him-pop-a-wheelie dept.
Aboard an enclosed recumbent bicycle in Nevada today, Canadian Todd Reichart has claimed the world record for human powered speed. The annual World Human Powered Speed Challenge draws cyclists from around the world seeking to push the limits of pedal-powered motion, but it was the 33-year-old who left the competition in his wake to clock a top speed of 85.71 mph (137.9 km/h).
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The pilot sits in the recumbent position, with their legs out in front of them, in an enclosed capsule crafted with aerodynamics as a driving principle. Using a camera mounted to the top of the vehicle and a video monitor to see ahead, Eta was expected to offer around a one percent improvement on performance compared to its predecessor, according to the team's computer simulations.
Pretty cool, but their human-powered ornithopter is possibly cooler.
(Score: 3, Informative) by CirclesInSand on Saturday September 19 2015, @02:33AM
Ornithopter link is one of the worst examples of human powered flight I've ever seen taken seriously. It isn't even honestly human powered, it is just falling after being powered by a gas engine.
I would recommend looking at "Speed with Guy Martin" the episode on Human Powered Aircraft. There is also a good Nova special floating around on youtube on an amazing Greek HPF attempt a few decades back.