Aircraft

Many people may think of the modern aircraft business as being dominated by military jet fighters and bombers, commercial jetliners and prop planes, and other similar large aircraft. But flying has become a popular hobby among many people in the world today, and, as a result, a number of special kinds of aircraft have been developed for use by ordinary people. One example is the bicycle drive light plane.

One of the most successful examples of this aircraft design is known as Daedalus '88. Daedalus '88 was designed to be so light and so aerodynamically sound that it could be flown by means of a single person turning the pedals of a bicycle. The bicycle pedals in Daedalus '88 are attached to a shaft that turns the aircraft's propeller, providing the thrust needed to get the plane off the ground. The wings are more than 100 ft (31 m) wide and the boom connecting the propeller to the tail of the plane is 29 ft (9 m) long.

Most of Daedalus '88's success is due to the use of the lightest possible materials in its construction: polyester for wing coverings, styrofoam and balsa wood for wing ribs, and aluminum and graphite epoxy resins for wing spars. The final aircraft weighs no more than 70 lb (32 kg). In the late 1980s, Daedalus' 88 was flown for a record-breaking 70 mi (110 km) at a speed of 18 mph (29 kph) by Greek bicyclist Kanellos Kanellopoulos.