Japan pedal power aims for human flight record
- Published: 11 Dec 2012 at 09.49
- Online news: Asia
A team in Japan are hoping pedal-power will beat the world record for a human-propelled plane -- in a flying machine made from polystyrene, they said Monday.
This picture taken on December 2, 2012 shows Japan's Yamaha Motor engineers "Team Aeroscepsy" assembling their man-powered airplane "Gokuraku-tonbo" or Happy-go-lucky prior to their test flight at the Honda airport at Okegawa city, suburban Tokyo. The plane which is 9.5-meters in length and has a 35.6-meter wingspan will in 2013 be used in an attempt to fly over 120-kilometers to challenge the world record for longest distance flown in a man powered aircraft, which currently stands at 115 kilometers. ©AFP PHOTO / Yoshikazu TSUNO
Team Aeroscepsy say a professional mountain biker will pilot their "Gokurakutombo", which has a wingspan half that of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet, in a voyage they hope will clock up 120 kilometres (75 miles).
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