It was unstable and you couldn't see forward very well. You wouldn't want to design another like it. But it changed the world by being a catalyst for thinking about aviation" (Malnic 2007).
MacCready received his grant from the Royal Aeronautical Society, which has, since 1959, offered its Kremer Prizes for advances in human-powered flight. MacCready is widely praised as the Kremer Prize's most innovative recipient, as he created vehicles most similar to those Icarus-style vehicles of art of ages past. Another recipient, Bill Brooks, created human-propelled vehicles styled to look like hang gliders with small engines. His hang glider "when launched from the side of a hill, can be used to ride thermal currents and achieve some altitude. Then, with a set of pedals linked to a small prop at the rear, he can pedal it along to another thermal" ("The Birdmen," the Economist, 2010).
As strange and fantastic as these ventures might seem, it is noteworthy that exploratory research in the field of 'tiny planes' has yielded important findings. For example, today unmanned mini-aircrafts called Ravens "weighing little over 4 pounds" are used as military spy planes "providing vital information...
The Raven can fly 500 feet in the air and transmit video feed to operators miles away (Pae 2010). Thus pure research can often yield useful findings, and the efforts of modern-day 'birdmen' may one day improve the technology used either in warfare or transportation to make the world a better and safer place.
Works Cited
"The Birdmen." The Economist. September 2010. February 14, 2011.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2010/09/human-powered_flight
Malnic, Eric. Paul B. MacCready. The L.A. Times. August 20, 2007. February 14, 2011.
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/30/local/me-maccready30
Maugh, Thomas. "Human-powered flight stays airborne." The L.A. Times. September 24, 2010.
February 14, 2011. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/sep/24/science/la-sci-ornithopter-20100925
Pae, Peter. "Tiny planes growing clout." The L.A. Times. September 10, 2008.
February 14, 2011.
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/10/business/fi-tinyplanes10
