 {| |} the gossamer albatross is a human-powered aircraft built by american aeronautical engineer dr. paul b. maccready's company aerovironment. on june 12, 1979 it completed a successful crossing of the english channel to win the second kremer prize. ==design and development== the aircraft was designed and built by a team led by paul b. maccready, a noted us aeronautics engineer, designer, and world soaring champion. gossamer albatross was his second human-powered aircraft, the first being the gossamer condor, which had won the first kremer prize on august 23, 1977 by completing a mile-long figure-eight course. the second kremer challenge was then announced as a flight across the channel recalling louis blÃ©riot's crossing of 1909. the albatross was powered using pedals to drive a large two-bladed propeller. on june 12, 1979, piloted by amateur cyclist bryan allen, it completed the 35.8&nbsp;km (22.2&nbsp;mi) crossing in 2&nbsp;hours and 49&nbsp;minutes, achieving a top speed of 29&nbsp;km/h (18&nbsp;mph) and an average altitude of 1.5&nbsp;metres (5&nbsp;ft). thumb|left|the cabin of the gossamer albatross the aircraft is of "canard" configuration, using a large horizontal stabilizer forward of the wing in a manner similar to the wright brothers' successful "flyer" aircraft. the gossamer albatross was constructed using a carbon fiber frame, with the ribs of the wings made with expanded polystyrene; the entire structure was then wrapped in a thin, transparent plastic (mylar aka pet film). the empty mass of the structure was only 32&nbsp;kg (71&nbsp;lb), although the gross mass for the channel flight was almost 100&nbsp;kg (220&nbsp;lb). to maintain the craft in the air it was designed with very long tapering wings (high aspect ratio), like those of a glider, allowing the flight to be undertaken with a minimum of power. in still air the required power was of the order of 300 w (0.4 horsepower), though even mild turbulence made this figure rise rapidly. the albatross i is on display at the smithsonian i
AeroVironment_aircraft Canard_aircraft Human-powered_aircraft Individual_aircraft Individual_aircraft_in_the_collection_of_the_Smithsonian_Institution Single-engined_pusher_aircraft United_States_experimental_aircraft_1970a1979