* Astronomy

SUHPA effort to mark 50th anniversary of world's first human-powered flight

2011 marks the 50th anniversary of the world's first human-powered flight, when a group of University of Southampton students designed and built SUMPAC (Southampton University Man Powered Aircraft).
To commemorate this achievement, a group of University of Southampton students are constructing their own human-powered aircraft (SUHPA) to be entered into the prestigious £100,000 Kremer International Sporting Aircraft Competition, which promotes the development of human-powered aircraft (HPA).
A HPA is powered solely from human energy during take-off, cruise and landing. The first successful take-off and landing of SUMPAC was on 9 November 1961 covering a distance of over 650 metres. To win the Kremer prize, SUHPA must twice navigate a 1500 metre triangular course at five metres above ground level at a speed of not less than 17 mph.
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