Inspired by the £50 000 Kremer prize for human-powered flight, Paul MacCready began a long career of aircraft innovation. The “Gossamer Condor,” designed and tested by MacCready and his three sons, was light enough to be powered by one person, who pedaled it like a bicycle. The revised version, the “Gossamer Albatross,” crossed the English Channel. More recently, developing an interest in environmental issues and a concern for the impact a growing human population is having on the Earth, MacCready has come up with Helios, a huge solar-powered glider that has a wingspan larger than a Boeing 747 jet plane. The tops of these enormous wings are completely covered with solar panels, which provide all of the power for the aircraft. The unmanned glider doesn’t consist of much more than wings, with propellers at the front. The wings are flexible and can move like those of a bird—apparently, they can bend so far as to touch together at the top, without breaking.
MacCready has invented more than just airplanes. The electrical model EV-1, from General Motors, was developed from the Impact electrical car, made by MacCready’s AeroVironment company—who also worked on building-top wind turbines. He created a hand-held, battery-powered glider that could provide close surveillance of an area while being controlled by a remote operator, which the U.S. military has adopted and uses widely. He also gives us a live demonstration of a glider that one of his sons invented, that is powered by the wind currents generated by a person’s body as they walk.
