h a l f b a k e r yLike gliding backwards through porridge.
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Props (aknowledgements, not propellors) to Man
powered
flapping flight and Undulating Wright Glider.
Most human-powered aircraft (propellor and
undulatory)
have been large, spindly, rigid-framed affairs having
substantial mass. By comparison, ram-air wings such as
paragliders achieve
large wingspans and areas with low
mass and robust construction, by means of an
inflatable,
non-rigid wing, and suspension of the pilot centered
below the wing.
Conventional paragliders are not human powered. This
idea is for an adaption of para wing to include human
power input via the lines that connect the wing and
pilot.
The modes of human-powered propulsion could be
several. At launch, the pilot would pull-up the wing as
normal paragliding practice. Further running, also per
normal. A mechanism adapted to the motion of
running
would be attached to the pilot's legs by lines (thin
rope),
and would have a clutch between it and the final drive.
So the pilot would engage the clutch and keep 'running'
aloft. The mechanism you ask? half-baked of course.
An alternative incarnation would involve pedals and at
least one wheel.
Paraglider launching
http://www.paraglid...torpedo-launch.html
[afinehowdoyoudo, Oct 12 2011]
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Annotation:
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What would the //final drive// ... drive? |
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It would look like a giant, flying skate. [+] |
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So the lines could be belts driven by pedals, operating a propeller? |
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I envisioned the final drive to be the lines that attach
to the canopy (the inflated wing). Except instead of
being static, or having only a little action for control,
they would have lots of motion, synchronized to
create an undulatory motion. I think the flapping
action has the potential to be more efficient than a
propellor. |
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