Wow - AeroVelo Wins $250,000 Sikorsky Prize!

Did you know Canada..  The Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition was established in 1980(!!!) by the American Helicopter Society International to develop the first controlled flight of a human powered helicopter that meets a set of extremely challenging requirements.

The requirements to win the AHS Human Powered Helicopter Competition include a flight duration of at least 60 seconds and reaching an altitude of 3 meters while remaining in a 10 meter square boundary. The flight must also be certified by a representative of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.

The competition was named in honor of Igor Sikorsky and the prize is $250,000 (pledged by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation).

Well, BIG NEWS! The prize was awarded July 11 2013 to the AeroVelo team from the University of Toronto. On 13 June 2013 at 12:43PM EDT the team managed to keep their human-powered helicopter called Atlas in the air for 64.11 seconds, reach a peak altitude of 3.3 metres and drift no more than 9.8 metres.

Check it out here, and congratulations!!  Go Canada!!