I'm announcing the Tiangou Award. If you create a dog powered vehicle that flies at least 852 feet, the same as the first Wright brother's airplane, you will get the following.

1- A plaque with your name and a description of the vehicle and pilot.

2- Your place in aviation history.

The rules are as follows.

1- This must be a heavier than air, propeller driven aircraft. The aircraft can use lightweight materials but cannot incorporate lighter than air gas or otherwise inflated bladders.*

2- The sole power source must be one or more dogs.

3- Control surfaces may be manipulated as necessary via automation or real time human input via wireless control so long as they in no way provide any thrust, forward or upward motion to the vehicle.

4- Safety measures must be built in so the animal or animals won't get hurt in the event of a crash.

5- The craft must be recorded starting from a dead stop, lifting off the ground far enough that it is clearly seen as being air-born, flying at least 852 feet and landing safely with no injury to the canine pilot or pilots.

6- It must be able to take off and fly this distance into the prevailing wind if there is any. Flying into absolutely still air will be accepted but the craft will need to make two flights in opposite directions.

*Except where needed to add protective padding to the passenger compartment.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018

The Tiangou lineage http://1.bp.blogspo...0/s1600/tiangou.jpg
This flying black dog of Chinese legend responsible for eating the sun during a solar eclipse. [doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018]

Tiangou https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiangou
More about the award namesake. [doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018]

This video again. https://www.youtube...watch?v=BWAK0J8Uhzk
Driving dogs. Good stuff. [doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018]

How much heavier than air? If the overall vehicle net weight is 1 gram heavier than air volume does that count?

Also, are Jack Russells allowed? These animals are nearly neutrally buoyant and only touch earth to propel themselves again anyway...
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 06 2018


You need a rule about taking off from level ground or a glider will do the trick.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 06 2018


Hmm. Good points. See additional rules.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018


Here's another: presently as written a dog pulling an empty kite qualifies, if you allow some liberty with the meaning of "pilot."

Makes me wonder how lightweight I can make a vacuum container.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 06 2018


Kite can't fly into the wind.

Not being arbitrary with the rules, it has to duplicate the specific outlines that were used to design the Gossamer Albatross. Otherwise people will go "Dog powered? Oh, they just hooked the poor little fella up to a ballon."
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018


"Doctor Remulac?"
"Uh, yes, well, no, I mean..."
"We've come to talk to you about your animal experiments."
"Oh?"
"Yes. So if we can just check your permits first, then we can get on with inspecting the animals' veterinary certificates and the handling conditions before we review your experimental strategies, monitoring arrangements and reporting schedules."
"I'm afraid you'll have to wait until I'm through with the FAA guys..."
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 06 2018


"Ohhh, I get it.

Hold on, I left my suitcase full of campaign contribution cash in the pocket of my other pants, I'll be right back."
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 06 2018


// Safety measures must be built in so the animal or animals won't get hurt in the event of a crash. //

We'll fund you.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 06 2018


How exactly is the term "crash" defined, for the purposes of rule 4?
-- Wrongfellow, Jan 06 2018


A landing sufficiently forceful that the airframe is not immediately re-useable without repair.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 06 2018


Well, the airframe might be unscathed but the animal could still be hurt.

I'd just say don't hurt the dog. We all know what that means. I'll add an exception to the no inflatables rule.

*Except where needed to add protective padding to the passenger compartment.
-- doctorremulac3, Jan 07 2018


// the airframe might be unscathed but the animal could still be hurt. //

Very doubtful - airframes are much more fragile than humans.

A hard landing, enough to elicit comment from others on board, can send the plane off to the maintainers for an expensive holiday, while the occupants merely wander away, grumbling; and dogs are a lot tougher than humans.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 07 2018


Obviously the answer is to build planes out of dogs.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 07 2018


I find bird bones a bit more suited to the task.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 07 2018


// chihuahua kick-starter project //

Hmm, sounds like you need some pump-priming money for that.

We suggest a high speed turbine pump with a 100mm inlet port.

A suitably configured intake funnel and spray collar would allow the pump to ingest a controlled water flow blended with whole Chihuahuas, which would be emulsified by the rotor and forced out as a narrow, high-pressure jet of slurry.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 08 2018


//chihuahuas off the ground// large dogs are in contact with the ground clearly, there are footprints to prove it. As dog breeds get smaller however, their mass/energy ratio decreases to the point where gravity plays a minimal role. As such, small dogs are best described as existing in a probability cloud vibrating in close proximity to the floor. Strong evidence for this theory came in 2001, when the border collie I served performed the double slit experiment on our garden gate. It's either that or the mischievous fucker worked out a latch, a bolt and a rope loop.
-- bs0u0155, Jan 09 2018


Couldn't this be an N-Prize category?
-- hippo, Jan 09 2018


I thought the Soviets did the "first dog in orbit" thing already.
-- Wrongfellow, Jan 09 2018


As long as we can find a dog weighing less than 19.999 grams, and capable of indicating its position in orbit, we're good.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 09 2018



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