Pedaliante

1937 04 18 - 8882 - Washington DC - NASM - Pedaliante by thisisbossi

The propeller-equipped bicycle used to develop the Pedaliante, a human powered aircraft piloted by a "very strong cyclist".

"A second experiment conducted during a trip to Paris involved a propeller-driven bicycle designed by Bossi. The test rider achieved a speed of 37 km/h (23 mph), but one drawback was noted: the gyroscopic effect of the propeller generated so much torque that the bicycle became unstable. Bossi concluded, erroneously, that a successful human-powered aircraft would therefore require two counter-rotating propellers to cancel out the effects of torque – similar to the design of a helicopter. In light of these findings, Bossi decided to design an aircraft incorporating this difficult requirement."

Comments

[TWK]

You know, a propeller propelled bicycle would result in high compliance to the 3-foot pass law.

[Ted]

Propeller bikes make me think of Tombo's kit in Kiki's Delivery Service. Someone built a real one: http://youtu.be/1gLdRqSXlrE

[Bossi]

Woo hoo- thanks!