The DaSH Project - Building a 'Simple' Human Powered Airplane

The DaSH PA project stands for "Dead Simple Human Powered Airplane", the idea: to take as simple and efficient an approach as possible to building a successful HPA -- a plane that flies powered solely by its human pilot, and that performs well while doing so. It was started by a group of engineers just for the fun of it, so we can learn ourselves and educate others, while designing and building something challenging, fun and a little bit out there. Over 200 volunteers have helped build and fly the first successfully flown HPA in the U.S. in 27 years.

To make a human powered airplane work, one must design an airplane that is incredibly light, but extremely large at the same time -- the base design for DaSH has a wingspan of 33.3 m, with an extended wing version reaching 40 m (131 ft), yet it weighs under 45 kg (99 lbs). Accomplishing this feat involves the use of a combination of lightweight materials, from high strength carbon fiber composites, to plastic films and foams, wood, and a very small amount of metal, bonded together with high strength adhesives.

Speaker: Alec Proudfoot, Proudfoot Design