Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft

The Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft (also known as Dumbo and later Mercury) is a British single-seat man-powered aircraft built and flown by members of the Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft Group.^[1]

Development

The Weybridge Man Powered Aircraft Group was formed in late 1967 with members drawn from the British Aircraft Corporation factory and the local chapter of the Royal Aeronautical Society.^[1] Construction started in 1968 and the aircraft was assembled at Wisley and flown for the first time from Weybridge on 18 September 1971.^[1] The Weybridge MPA (which was named Dumbo) was flown by Christopher Lovell for a distance of 46 metres with a height reached of 3 ft (0.9m).^[1] Only two flights were made at Weybridge and the aircraft was passed to another group at RAF Cranwell who renamed it Mercury.

Design

The aircraft is a low-wing cantilever monoplane with a fuselage made from aluminium alloy tubing with balsa frames and covered with Melinex.^[1] The wing has a single warren-girder main spar of aluminium alloy tubing with balsa ribs and, like the fuselage, covered with Melinex.^[1] The landing gear was a non-retractable tricycle arrangement using bicycle wheels.^[1] The power is generated by the pilot in an enclosed cockpit using bicycle pedals driving a two-bladed balsa pusher propeller.^[1]

Specifications

Data from Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1973-74^[1]

General characteristics

• Crew: 1
• Length: 21 ft 0 in (6.40 m)
• Wingspan: 120 ft 4 in (36.69 m)
• Height: 11 ft 6 in (3.51 m)
• Wing area: 485 ft² (45.06 m²)
• Empty weight: 125 lb (56 kg)
• Gross weight: 280 lb (127 kg)

Performance

• Maximum speed: 16 mph (25.5 km/h)
• Stall speed: 11 mph (18 km/h)

See also

Related lists

• List of Human-powered aircraft

References

Notes

Bibliography