17 December 2004

Dr. Paul MacCready, the Father of Human-Powered Flight,
to speak at the 2005 Citizen Science Conference

2003 SAS Conference attendees discuss ideas with SAS Board member
and 2005 Winfree Lecturer Dr. Paul MacCready (far right).

The Society for Amateur Scientists has announced that Paul MacCready, Ph.D., will be the featured Winfree Lecture Speaker at the 2005 Citizen Science Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, 13-16 January 2005.

When he was only a teenager, Dr. MacCready broke records with his hand-crafted model airplanes. After serving in the Navy during World War Two, MacCready earned a physics degree from Yale University and a doctorate in aeronautical engineering from California Institute of Technology. MacCready went on to become a famous glider pilot. He won U.S. soaring championships three times. In 1956 he became the first American pilot to win the world soaring championship.

During his glider days, MacCready founded Meteorology Research, Inc., and pursued cloud seeding and atmospheric research.

In 1971 MacCready founded AeroVironment, Inc., a company that has built a reputation on a string of astonishingly innovative achievements. In 1977, MacCready created the Gossamer Condor, the first aircraft to fly and maneuver while powered solely by a human being. The plane had a wingspan of 27.4 meters (90 feet) and weighed only 31.75 kg (70 pounds).

The Gossamer Condor made aviation history when it flew a figure-eight course under human power and earned MacCready the $100,000 Kremer Prize. The Gossamer Condor now hangs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum alongside the Wright brothers flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis.

In 1979, bicyclist Bryan Allen flew a second MacCready human powered plane, the Gossamer Albatross, more than 32 km (20 miles) across the English Channel. This earned MacCready the second Kremer Prize and $200,000.

MacCready's successes in human powered flight taught lessons that he soon applied to other aircraft and even electrically powered cars. In 1981, his solar-powered Challenger flew 262 km (163 miles) from Paris to Canterbury, England, reaching 3,350 meters (11,000 feet) during the flight.

This and other ultralight aircraft eventually evolved into the Helios, a monster flying wing powered by banks of solar cells on the upper side of its 75.3-meter (247-feet) long wing. Helios achieved an altitude record by flying to 29,520 meters (96,863 feet).

AeroVironment is developing a modified Helios powered by fuel cells. The firm has spun off a new company to develop an unmanned plane that will circle high above cities for six months at a time providing cell phone service to subscribers far below. While pioneering these and other completely new kinds of ultralight aircraft, MacCready returned to his first love, the model airplanes of his youth.

One of the most interesting AeroVironment products is the Pointer, a remotely-controlled airplane that military troops in the field can use to spy on enemy forces.

Paul MacCready has secured a prominent role in aviation history. Five of his planes are at the Smithsonian Institution, and he has won numerous awards and honors. Hopefully history writers will also record something about the congenial, inspirational side of this amazingly creative genius. You can find out much more about this aviation pioneer and citizen science advocate by clicking here.

Conference details are available online. The conference will take place in Las Vegas, NV, 13-16 January, 2005.You can sign up here.

Forrest M. Mims III