HPA Toucan

Toucan
Role	Two-seat Human-powered aircraft
National origin	United Kingdom
Manufacturer	Hertfordshire Pedal Aeronauts
First flight	23 December 1972
Number built	1

The HPA Toucan is a British two-seat human-powered aircraft built and flown by members of the Hertfordshire Pedal Aeronauts and was the first two-person human-powered aircraft to fly.^[1]

Development

The Hertfordshire Pedal Aeronauts was formed in 1965, mainly from the staff of Handley Page Limited, to design and build a human-powered aircraft and to compete for the Kremer Prize. The aircraft, unique in being powered by two persons, was designed by Martyn Pressnell. Pressnell was at the time a stress engineer with Handley Page.^[1] Partly funded by a grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society construction began in 1967 and was completed in 1972.^[1] Following taxying trials at Radlett Aerodrome on 16 June 1972 when brief hops were made, the aircraft made its first flight on 23 December 1972.^[1]^[2] Flown by Bryan Bowen with Derek May as crewman the longest flight was 204 ft (62 m), the Toucan flew again on 3 July 1973 for 2,100 ft (640 m) and achieved a height of 15 to 20 ft (4.6 to 6.1 m).^[1]

Design

The Toucan is a mid-wing cantilever monoplane with the fuselage a braced structure of spruce and balsa and covered with Melinex.^[1] The wing spars had spruce booms and plywood edges and the ribs were made from balsa and like the fuselage it was covered with Melenix.^[1] The landing gear was a non-retractable the main wheel and tailwheel in tandem, it also had small outrigger wheels under the wings.^[1] The two crew sit in tandem under a transparent removable cover, the power is generated by the two crew using bicycle pedals which were connected by chains to drive the main wheel and via a shaft a two-bladed balsa pusher propeller mounted at the rear of the tail unit.^[1]

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1973-74^[1]

General characteristics

Crew: 2
Length: 28 ft 8 in (8.74 m)
Wingspan: 123 ft 0 in (37.49 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 600 sq ft (55.7 m²)
Empty weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Gross weight: 528 lb (239 kg)

Performance

Maximum speed: 34 mph (54.5 km/h, 30 kn)
Stall speed: 20 mph (32 km/h, 17 kn)

References

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Taylor 1973, pp. 210-211
^ Sherwin, Keith (1976). To Fly Like a Bird: The Story of Man-Powered Aircraft. Folkestone, England: Bailey Brothers and Swinfen Limited. pp. 94–97. ISBN 0561002835.

Bibliography

Taylor, John W.R., ed. (1973). Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1973-74. London, United Kingdom: Jane's Yearbooks. ISBN 0-354-00117-5.

[Janes-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Taylor 1973, pp. 210-211

[2] Sherwin, Keith (1976). To Fly Like a Bird: The Story of Man-Powered Aircraft. Folkestone, England: Bailey Brothers and Swinfen Limited. pp. 94–97. ISBN 0561002835.

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