Sikorsky Prize

The Sikorsky Prize is a $20,000 reward established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society (AHS) to the first controlled flight of a human powered helicopter. It was named in honor of Igor Sikorsky. The prize has not yet been won as of July 2006. The competition is international and is open to individuals or teams from any part of the world.

In summary, the requirements to win the Sikorsky prize include a flight duration of 60 seconds and reaching an altitude of 3 meters (9.8 ft) while remaining in an area 10 meters (32.8 ft) square.

Many have attempted to fly human powered helicopters both before and after the creation of the Sikorsky Prize. None have met all of the prize's requirements. Very few human powered aircraft in the history of aviation have succeeded in leaving the ground under official witnessing. The first one was the "Da Vinci III" in 1989, designed and built by students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California, USA. It flew for 7.1 seconds and reached a height of 8 inches (20 cm). The second was the "Yuri I" in 1994, designed and built by students at Nihon University in Japan. It flew for 19.46 seconds and reached an altitude of 20 cm.

ee also

* List of prizes
* Prizes named after people

External links

* [http://vtol.org/awards/hph.html Sikorsky Prize - American Helicopter Society]
* [http://www.humanpoweredhelicopters.org humanpoweredhelicopters.org] - lists attempts to win the Sikorsky Prize