it’s a bit misleading. The RAeS doesn’t support

competitions just so that a few flyers can make

a bob or two. Likewise, people don’t do it just

for the money. Because of the amount of time

that it takes to create an HPA, and the cost of

the materials, getting a pilot into the air under

his own steam is more of a labour of love. One

of the aims of the RAeS is to promote HPA

flying as a sport, and most of the participants at

HPA events treat it as exactly that – a sport or

hobby. Like the thousands of people who race

cars and motorbikes, or sail yachts, or cycle, the

HPA crews are enthusiasts using their skills

and technical knowledge to try to do something

pretty special. You have to admire their

dedication and respect their achievements.

Despite the records that have been set over

the years, it’s still quite something to design

and build an HPA and get it into the air – more

people have been into outer space than have

flown an HPA. I may never make it into space,

but I was determined to become an HPA pilot.

The competitive element, of course, is always

there. Where’s the fun if there’s no edge? I

reckoned that being at the controls of an HPA

would be immense, but I couldn’t help thinking

about Musculair II. Surely we could manage a

faster speed? I had pedalled a bike at 112 mph,

after all, so getting up to around 30 mph on a

bike with wings didn’t seem completely out of

the question, and it would be nice to think that

a British team could design and build an HPA

that could fly faster than the Germans, wouldn’t

it? The only snag was that I had never flown

anything in my life. True, I had flown through

the air when coming off a motorbike at a fair

old speed, but you could never claim you were

in control of that short flight and it seldom ends

well! I knew nothing about piloting an aircraft,

so before I went any further I needed to learn

a few basics about flying …

Top: The Gossamer

Albatross had a

wingspan of almost

30 metres (98 feet)

yet weighed only 32

kilograms.

Middle: Gossamer

Albatross leaving

England at the start of

a three-hour flight

across the English

Channel to France.

Bottom: The Musculair
II by the German father-
and-son team whose
record I was going to
try and beat.

DISCOVERING THE WORLD OF HUMAN POWERED FLIGHT   87