Here
is the official press release from AHS International, the world's premier professional vertical flight technical society,
"AeroVelo
Team Wins
AHS International's 33-Year-Old Igor I. Sikorsky Human Powered Helicopter Competition." AeroVelo's Dr. Todd Reichert
piloted and pedaled the Atlas on the flight inside The Soccer Centre in Vaughan, Ontario, that netted the team the
long-standing $250,000 prize. "This incredible flight was 64.11 seconds in duration (World Record for "Duration
on Hover"), reached a 3.3 m (11 ft) peak altitude, and drifted a maximum of 9.8 m (32 ft).
The Atlas as flown on June 13th behaved very differently from the aircraft we first flew some 9 months ago, a result
of many incremental improvements and changes. In 18 months this passionate team went from preliminary design
to achieving what many considered impossible, taking down one of the most daunting aviation feats of the past century,"
per an AeroVelo statement. Requirements were simple: Exceeded 60 seconds duration, exceeded 3 m (10 ft)
in height, remained within a 10 m x 10 m (33 ft x 33 ft) box, and use only human power for the
entire flight. Congratulations to the AeroVelo team!!!
