Human-Powered Flight
- Human-powered aviation HPA
- Human-powered aircraft HPA
- Human-powered kite systems HPKS
- Free-flight gliding enhanced by pilot-power (extend a glide via human power)
- Stored human power used later for flight ...
- How might/does HPA inform/affect AWE?
- How might AWE inform/affect HPA?
- Year circa 2012 Team Aeroscepsy Wingspan: 117 ft. Weight: 81 lb
Sarregouset Night-Flying in Lightning, "on the rolling waves of the air..."
"At night, when it thunders, if
you should happen to see men flying in the lurid light of the clouds,
or on the rolling waves of the air, these are no other than the
Sarregousets"*
Victor Hugo
Toilers of the Sea
* aka "Hairy Ones" of scripture
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More Hugo, from same work-
"Nature presented itself to (Gilliatt) under a somewhat strange aspect.
Just as he had often found in the perfectly limpid water of the sea strange creatures of considerable size and of various shapes, of the Medusa genus, which out of the water bore a resemblance to soft crystal, and which, cast again into the sea, became lost to sight in that medium by reason of their identity in transparency and colour, so he imagined that other transparencies, similar to these almost invisible denizens of the ocean, might probably inhabit the air around us. The birds are scarcely inhabitants of the air, but rather amphibious creatures passing much of their lives upon the earth.
Gilliatt could not believe the air a mere desert. He used to say, "Since the water is filled with life, why not the atmosphere?" Creatures colourless and transparent like the air would escape from our observation. What proof have we that there are no such creatures? Analogy indicates that the liquid fields of air must have their swimming habitants, even as the waters of the deep. These aerial fish would, of course, be diaphanous; a provision of their wise Creator for our sakes as well as their own. Allowing the light to pass through their forms, casting no shadow, having no defined outline, they would necessarily remain unknown to us, and beyond the grasp of human sense.
Gilliatt indulged the wild fancy that if it were possible to exhaust the earth of its atmosphere, or if we could fish the air as we fish the depths of the sea, we should discover the existence of a multitude of strange animals. And then, he would add in his reverie, many things would be made clear."
Just as he had often found in the perfectly limpid water of the sea strange creatures of considerable size and of various shapes, of the Medusa genus, which out of the water bore a resemblance to soft crystal, and which, cast again into the sea, became lost to sight in that medium by reason of their identity in transparency and colour, so he imagined that other transparencies, similar to these almost invisible denizens of the ocean, might probably inhabit the air around us. The birds are scarcely inhabitants of the air, but rather amphibious creatures passing much of their lives upon the earth.
Gilliatt could not believe the air a mere desert. He used to say, "Since the water is filled with life, why not the atmosphere?" Creatures colourless and transparent like the air would escape from our observation. What proof have we that there are no such creatures? Analogy indicates that the liquid fields of air must have their swimming habitants, even as the waters of the deep. These aerial fish would, of course, be diaphanous; a provision of their wise Creator for our sakes as well as their own. Allowing the light to pass through their forms, casting no shadow, having no defined outline, they would necessarily remain unknown to us, and beyond the grasp of human sense.
Gilliatt indulged the wild fancy that if it were possible to exhaust the earth of its atmosphere, or if we could fish the air as we fish the depths of the sea, we should discover the existence of a multitude of strange animals. And then, he would add in his reverie, many things would be made clear."
I have long supposed the atmosphere would evolve large-scale cyborg life; here Hugo recasts the primordial idea that the air is already haunted, plus a bit of science for spice.
Human-powered kite systems
There is more than one type of human-powered kite system. I address one right now. To see: consider full air calm; have human be the dominant part of the anchor set of a kite system. Have the human take hold of the tether set of the kite system. Then have the human walk or run in any direction with some constancy of direction on the assumed surface of the earth. Have the aerial wing set of the kite system be somewhat proportional to the human. If things are in a window of possibility, then the kite system would move and the aerial wing set would fly in the air.
Another human-powered kite system: Have a wind tunnel in which a wing is tethered to the floor of the wind tunnel. Let the human by some means drive air through the wind tunnel to effect flow that makes the parts become a kite system (wing set, tether set, and anchor set). The anchor set in this scene seems to be the wind tunnel structure and Earth.
More later! All are invited to describe other human-powered kite systems.
Human Powered Flight by Goya
Both allegorical and somewhat plausible-
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Ed-added links for Goya:
- Once, you had to be an artist to get airborne
- Volaverunt 1797 - 1799. Etching
- Kite: La Cometa | Article
- Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes
